Kiev acknowledges third of coffee supplied to Ukraine smuggled

MOSCOW. Aug 26 (Interfax) - Verkhovna Rada Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee Chairman Daniil Getmantsev has urged the Ukrainian State Customs Service and the Economic Security Bureau to pay attention to the coffee market, where a third of the products are smuggled.

"In total, 3,000 tonnes of illegal coffee (or every third tonne) per year are smuggled into Ukraine past the wide-closed eyes of customs officers and law enforcement officers. Under the guise of chicory, the imports of which have increased markedly in two years, or even illicitly," the Ukrainian media quoted the lawmaker as saying in a post on social networks.

This coffee is sold for cash, or packaged under international brands, and sold for cash, as well, he said.

"And it's not just Stolichka, Volynskaya in Kiev (marketplaces), or Seventh Kilometer in Odessa. These are numerous food retail chains that have been shredded into individual entrepreneurs," Getmantsev said.

He estimated that the state loses more than UAH 1 billion a year on this group of goods alone, and consumers receive low-quality, counterfeit goods.

"The inability of the state to resist fraudsters, or the ability of some 'statesmen' to participate in them [frauds], is amazing," Getmantsev said.