Association "Ukrkondprom" supported the work of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine to expose the large-scale underground production of counterfeit coffee under the logos of well-known international brands in the Kyiv region.
About Oleksandr Baldynyuk, president of the "Ukrkondprom" Association, stated this.
"Production and sales of falsified products under foreign trademarks cause significant damage to the industry. Legal business loses competitive advantages due to activity of operators, who do not pay taxes and work outside the legal system field. The consumer receives products of unknown origin instead of guaranteed products brand quality. The state budget is underfunded to say the least 550 million hryvnias per year only in the coffee segment. That is why the actions of BEB are important and necessary", – noted head of Ukrkondprom.
By in his words, the discovered scheme is a natural consequence of the transformation of the shadow market. After the strengthening of customs control in 2024 annually part of the illegal operators switched from schemes with underestimation of the customs value to contraband schemes channels and organization of underground production within the country. Up to a third the instant coffee market is still in the shadows, and without a comprehensive and coordinated one state policy, this share will not decrease.
"One-off operations, despite their obvious effectiveness, do not change systems. Constant coordinated work of customs is necessary, DPS and BEB with unified risk profiles and common analytics. Law enforcement focus should be directed at the organizers of the schemes: production, group compositions, logistics and financial flows", – said Alexander Baldynyuk.
Ukrkondprom also calls for the introduction of a simplified procedure for the BEB to access customs control zones to identify counterfeit goods.
FOR REFERENCE
13 May 2026 2018, the BEB published the results operations to eliminate the underground production of adulterated coffee in the Kyiv region. In progress 22 During the searches, tons of counterfeit goods and property in the amount of approx 20 million UAH. Installed, that the participants after the conclusion of the contract with the right holder in 2021 continued to illegally use the trademark, by organizing underground workshops in warehouses. Sales were carried out through online stores, marketplaces and coffee shops throughout Ukraine. (Source: Beb)
In April 2026 Chairman of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on finance, of tax and customs policy, Danylo Hetmantsev said, what every second cup of coffee in Ukraine is contraband, fake or such, from which not a single penny of taxes has been paid. According to him, with real consumption 85-105 th. tons per year is officially imported only approx 49 th. tonnes. Losses he estimated the budget at approx 7 UAH billion per year. (Source: Interfax-Ukraine)
Ukrkondprom systematically processes the issue detinization of the coffee market in cooperation with relevant authorities. Within this framework works of the Association, including, initiated consideration of coffee classification issues products at customs and interaction of controlling authorities with rights holders for counterfeit detection.
