Oct. 9 - Ukraine has given up certification, heretofore mandatory, of certain confectionery products, in particular, chocolates, baked goods, toffees, and caramels, in order to comply with WTO standards.
A relevant decree signed by Head of the State Consumption Standards Agency Oleksandr Shnypko had been agreed with the Justice Ministry. According to the agency, the move was made under pressure from the US representatives in the Working Party on Ukraine's WTO accession.
Earlier, the State Consumption Standards Agency objected to cancelling the obligatory certification of confectionery produce saying it was the only mechanism to protect the market from poor quality.
In the meantime, Ukraine's confectioners have expressed different opinions about the move. Deputy Director of "Roshen Co" Kostyantyn Mai believes that the abolishment of obligatory certification will have no impact on the domestic market whatsoever, while production director of the "AVK" company Oleh Hariazh says that his enterprise will continue to certify its products with the State Consumption Standards Agency voluntarily. According to him, other leading confectioneries will do the same, as importing countries and foreign networks selling Ukrainian candies continue to require the certification.