The share of illegal tobacco products on the Ukrainian market in February-May 2021 increased by 3.1 p.p., to 15.9%, this is the maximum indicator, mainly due to the growth of illegal sales of products labeled as Duty Free, as well as those intended for export.
Such data were published by the Kantar Ukraine research institute through a survey of 3,300 adult smokers throughout the country, as well as by studying the origin of tobacco products in circulation.
According to the study, the total volume of illegally sold cigarettes since the beginning of the year, including May, amounted to 7.21 billion pieces, which led to a shortfall in the state budget of UAH 13.2 billion in tax deductions.
Kantar clarified that in May 2021 the share of counterfeit products on the Ukrainian cigarette market increased by 1.8 p.p. compared to February – up to 4.2%, the share of products labeled for Duty Free and export illegally sold in the country – by 1.3 p.p., to 8.2%, while the share of smuggled cigarettes decreased by 0.1 p.p., to 1.6%.
According to the results of the study, the average annual level of illegal sales of tobacco products in January-May 2021 increased by 2.1 times compared with the indicator for the entire 2020 – up to 14.4%. At the same time, since the beginning of this year, the share of counterfeits in the domestic cigarette market has grown by 3.1 p.p. compared to the data for 2020 – up to 5.1%, the share of products marked for Duty Free and export illegally sold in Ukraine – by 4.8 p.p., to 7.6%, while the share of smuggled cigarettes decreased by 0.5 p.p., to 1.7%.
“In addition to another growth in the volume of illegal tobacco products, another feature of 2021 is that there is a change in the distribution channels for illegal products. In 2021, three times more illegal tobacco products were sold through kiosks and stores than in 2020,” analyst from Kantar Ukraine Tetiana Sverdlyk said.
The institute clarified that 62% of tobacco products illegally sold as export or Duty Free products are marked as produced by the Vynnyky Tobacco Factory (Vynnyky, Lviv region) and are marked as not intended for sale in Ukraine. The share of unidentified manufacturers is 20%, United Tobacco LLC (Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk region) – 15%.
The most common brands of this group of illegal products are the Compliment brand marked as Duty Free – with a share of 47%, as well as those intended for export, but sold in Ukraine, namely Marshall (13%), Marvel (10%), Urta (8%) and Jin Ling (6%). The total share of these brands in this product group was 84%.
Kantar noted that 49% of smuggled cigarettes are products of Grodno Tobacco Factory (Belarus), 15% are from Moldovan factories. The most common smuggled brands are Credo, Fest, Queen, Dove, NZ, Ritm.
It is specified that 63% of illegal products are distributed in seven regions of Ukraine, most of all – in Odesa and Kharkiv (13% each), Donetsk (10%), Dnipropetrovsk (8%), Zaporizhia, Khmelnytsky and Lviv (6% each) regions.
Date and time: September 30 — October 1, 2021, 09:30 — 19:30 (Kyiv time).
Place: Hilton Kyiv, 30 Taras Shevchenko blvd, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Attention! Pre-registration is required to attend the event
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The main goal of the event is to discuss topical issues related to the functioning of the judicial system in Ukraine with the representatives of judicial institutions, international and national experts. You will see such representative among the participants of the forum: judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, of the Supreme Court, representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, People’s Deputies of Ukraine, judges and practicing lawyers, international experts, representative s of the Council of Europe, and the Media.
This year, the topic of the forum is «Independent Judiciary — the basis of the state in times of change». The event is organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association in cooperation with the Council of Europe Project «Support to the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Ukraine». The program coordinator of the event is Anna Ogrenchuk, President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, Managing Partner at LCF Law Group.
The event will be held in an adaptive quarantine measures.
Main topics and Expert Talks:
The connection between the society development and the judiciary.
New tools for simplifying access to justice — recommendation of the Council of Europe and Ukrainian development.
Mediation: principles of the Council of Europe and possible ways of their implementation in Ukraine.
Strategy for the development of the justice system and constitutional justice for 2021 — 2023.
Judicial reform, reform of the ССU: recent developments and priority steps.
Ensuring the unity of judicial practice: the recommendations of the Council of Europe and the achievements of the judiciary of Ukraine.
Procedural dilemmas as challenges to ensuring the right to a fair trial.
Antitrust disputes.
20 years of implementation of ECHR decisions in Ukraine: an adult view of the state of affairs.
Enforcement of judgments: the international aspect.
All presentations by foreign experts are provided with simultaneous translation.
https://judicialforum.uba.ua/en/
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Interfax-Ukraine — Media partner of the event.
PJSC Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill (Lviv region), which is part of Osnova holding, in January-August 2021 increased production by almost 2.1 times compared to the same period in 2020, to UAH 256.3 million.
According to the statistics provided to the Interfax-Ukraine agency by the UkrPapir association, the plant thus maintained the growth rate of this indicator achieved in January-July.
In natural terms, the output of paper for the eight months increased 2.3 times – up to 4,470 tonnes. The production of containerboard (including corrugated paper) increased by 32.3% – to 9,520 tonnes, but production of corrugated containers decreased by 2% – to 9.56 million square meters.
Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill was put into operation in 1951.
The capacity of paper production at Zhydachiv Pulp and Paper Mill (base paper for corrugation, cardboard liner, and cover paper) is 40,300 tonnes per year, cardboard production – 50,000 tonnes, corrugated board and corrugated packaging – 100 million square meters, and lumpy gaskets – 48 million pieces per year.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 27/09/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of September 27
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Ukraine is surprised and disappointed with Hungary’s decision to sign a new long-term contract with Russia’s Gazprom in Budapest on September 27, 2021, regarding gas supply to Hungary bypassing Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“We view this as nothing but a political, economically unfounded decision, which has been made to the benefit of the Kremlin and to the detriment of national interests of Ukraine and Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, in violation of the principles of the Treaty of Neighborliness and Cooperation between Ukraine and the Hungarian Republic dated December 6, 1991,” the statement said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has initiated a delay of the next meeting of the Joint Ukrainian-Hungarian Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation co-chaired by the two foreign ministers, which was planned for September 29-30.
“Earlier today, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry initiated a delay of the Commission meeting, considering that the Hungarian-Russian gas agreement will have a substantial influence on the energy security of Ukraine and Europe, and will create new circumstances that require a comprehensive analysis of risks and threats and coordinated efforts of countries of the region in order to minimize its negative implications,” the statement said.
The Ukrainian side will also apply to the European Commission to provide an assessment of the conformity of the new Hungarian-Russian gas agreement with European energy legislation.
