The demand for Belarusian products remains stable in Ukraine despite the difficult economic situation there, Roman Brodov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Policy of the Belarusian Economy Ministry, told reporters on 4 September.
“Belarusian products are in demand there and we expect that things will remain in place in the near term,” Roman Brodov said. In his words, despite Ukraine's plans to establish closer ties with Europe, the market is not able to adapt to new products overnight. Besides, Belarusian products have been there for a long time.
To secure good sales one needs a well-developed trade network and service centers and this requires a great deal of preparation, the specialist explained.
Commenting on the information that Ukrainian partners sometimes fail to pay for imported Belarusian products, Roman Brodov expressed confidence that Belarusian manufacturers can rectify the situation and minimize their risks. “Smart management is able to reduce non-payment risks,” he noted. In order to get the money in time, one needs to address a great number of issues, from choosing a reliable partner to conducting an open dialogue.
Speaking about long-term cooperation prospects in trade and economy in the context of European integration aspirations of Ukraine and possible conclusion of a free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Roman Brodov doubted a possibility of inflow of European goods to Belarus following the reduction of customs duties. He emphasized that the average customs duty in Ukraine shrank the most when the country joined the WTO. “No further reduction is expected. We see that after Ukraine's accession to the WTO, our export to this country never shrank considerably, even in the year of crisis. Our trade surplus rose from $600 million to several billion dollars,” the Economy Ministry representative said.
He noted that Belarus might encounter certain issues related to the compliance of domestic products with European standards. “However, no matter whether Ukraine signs the association agreement with the European Union or not, Belarus will still have to switch to European standardization parameters. If the European integration of Ukraine pushes our manufacturers to work harder towards European standards, this will be great,” the specialist said.
Written by belta.by
