The Russian Customs Service added all Ukrainian importers to its risk list on August 14, 2013, virtually blocking all imports from Ukraine indefinitely. The Interfax Ukraine news agency reported this, citing the press service of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine.
"At midnight on August 14, all Ukrainian exporters were added to the first forty enterprises that were put on the risk profile of the Russian Federal Customs Service’s risk management system in July this year. At the same time, the measures for preventing risks were strengthened further. Essentially, this amounts to complete suspension of Ukrainian exports indefinitely – for weeks or even months,” the press service said.
According to the federation, the Russian Customs subjects Ukrainian goods to continuous inspections, including unloading, transfer, and reloading onto trucks.
"All this increases the idle periods of cars and other vehicles and, as a result, increases the cost of goods, disrupts the supply of goods, and causes spoilage of goods, which undermines the position of Ukrainian producers on the Russian market. Meanwhile, the Russian market is of vital importance to many Ukrainian enterprises,” the federation said.
According to estimates by the federation, exports of Ukrainian goods to Russia in the second half of the year are projected at USD 8.5 billion.
"Ukraine’s losses from the above-described actions of the Russian side could reach USD 2-2.5 billion in the second half of this year alone, depending on how the scenario develops,” the federation said.
The federation called on Ukraine’s Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to address the issue at the intergovernmental level as quickly as possible.
