Belarus has changed taste

Belarus closed the market for the production of the Ukrainian confectioners. As became known “b”, from the beginning of April the local customs do not miss the products from Ukraine, holding it at the border for further checks. As a result, only the current month, the losses of the Ukrainian manufacturers could exceed 40 million. In response, Ukraine can begin a more thorough check of the Belarusian dairy products, They say the government.

Ukrainian confectionery manufacturers are faced with the blocking of the supply of sugary and chocolate products to Belarus, I told “b” President of the Association “Ukrkondprom” Aleksandr Baldinûk. “WITH 3 April vehicles with confectionery products in Ukraine does not pass the Belarusian customs”,- he said. Officially, the supply constraints the country is not introduced, but to the production of our country applies enhanced customs control, explains Mr. Baldinyuk. “The Belarusian legislation allows in this case to detain the goods at the customs office to 20 days with a possible extension of”,- he explained.

Belarus - the fourth largest export market for Ukrainian confectioners (over 5% of total exports; data of the State Statistics for 2012 year). As they put there last year over 20 thousand. tons of products on the 446 million. Now, because of supply constraints in April alone losses Ukrainian confectioners can make 40 million, and taking into account the Easter holidays, when demand is growing confectionery, this figure may grow significantly, said Alexander Baldinyuk.

According to market participants, difficulties with the supply of products experiencing the largest producers of confectionery in Ukraine, including Roshen, “Conti”, AVK and YF. Officially, the companies refused to comment on this topic. But in informal conversations managers have confirmed the existence of problems, tying the actions of the Belarusian authorities to the recent nationalization of factories in the country. “To 50% total imports of confectionery products in Belarus accounted for Ukrainian products. Local producers are losing share, so the first thing decided to protect us”,- says the manager of one of the companies. The Belarusian shops even unspoken received orders from the authorities to limit the shelf space for imported products. “This told us counterparties in Belarus”,- told in another company.

The issue has been raised at the intergovernmental level, said First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ivan Bisyuk. 12 April this topic was discussed during a meeting of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Arbuzov with the first deputy prime minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko. 13 April, Mr. Semashko Belarusian instructed departments to start the customs clearance “without bureaucratic costs and in a short time”, but the question was not resolved, the official added. “On Thursday, I spoke with the ambassador of Belarus to Ukraine Valentin Velichko. He promised to look into the situation”,- says Ivan Bisyuk.