Ban on Roshen products imports to Russian to limit trade artificially, Ukrainian confectioneries say

KYIV, July 31 /Ukrinform/. The Association of Ukrainian Confectioneries Ukrkondprom believes that a ban on the import of products of the Ukrainian Roshen Corporation will lead to the creation of artificial barriers to trade between Ukraine and Russia.

Ukrkondprom said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Association believes that any administrative restrictions from the Russian side will lead to the creation of artificial restrictions in mutual trade between the two countries," reads the statement.

At the same time, the Association urged the Ukrainian government to identify together with Russia an interstate conciliation procedure to resolve problems with the Roshen products, without imposing trade restrictions.

According to Ukrkondprom, the ban on Roshen products in the Russian Federation will cause Ukraine a significant economic damage of USD 17 million in foreign exchange earnings on a monthly basis.

Ukrkondprom is a non-governmental and the only trade association of manufacturers of confectionery, food concentrate, starch products and coffee in Ukraine. The Association incorporates 18 members - the leading manufacturers of confectionery, food concentrate and starch industry, including Roshen, Konti, AVK, Kharkiv Biscuit Factory, Poltavakondyter, Nestle Ukraine, Galka Ltd., KrokhmaloProdukt Trade House.

As reported, Rospotrebnadzor Chief Gennady Onishchenko told Russian media on Monday that Russia had introduced a ban on the supply of Roshen confectionery to Russia. He said that samples of the Corporation's milk chocolate selected at Moscow supermarkets "do not correspond to the declared parameters" due to the content of benzopyrene.

Meanwhile, Roshen Corporation, one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in Ukraine, said it has not yet received an official notification from the Russian Federal Consumer Rights Service (Rospotrebnadzor) about a ban on the supply of its products to Russia.

On July 29, Roshen Corporation addressed the Russian Federal Consumer Rights Service with the requirement to provide official documents proving the existence of claims to the Corporation's products.

АМ