Order to reduce import to zero: import of food and non-food products banned (document)

The Government has announced a new Crusade against import due to the global financial crisis.

The Ministry of Trade prepared a list of imported goods, which disappearance, according to officials, “won’t significantly affect the national consumer market”. It includes 16 items of food products and 15 items of non-food products, “Belorusskie Novosti” reports.

Food stuff on the “black list” include in particular, imported beer, soft drinks, chocolate, mayonnaise, cheese, cottage cheese, ice-cream, bread and bakery. Among the non-food products are imported TV-sets, bikes, carpets, furniture, bags, T-shirts, dry pack mortars and so on.

A protocol of an operational meeting of the Ministry of Trade held in the middle of November reads that volumes of import of above mentioned products is planned to be two-fold reduced in November-December 2008.

Heads of trade departments of regional executive committees and the Minsk city executive committee as well as heads of wholesale companies received a number of other instructions. In particular, contracts on warehouse lease with companies, importing “ungrounded” products should be reviewed. In case goods, “which import doesn’t significantly affect the consumer market” are kept on the rented areas, a question on practicability of these contracts will be raised. In other words, such contracts will be cancelled.

Besides, it was offered to impose imported products on the “black list” instalment for 180 days that creates unprofitable conditions for foreign companies to sell goods to Belarus.

“Foreign manufacturers won’t do it for certain. One will hardly agree to wait for six months unless a Belarusian importer pays for the received products. Even in our best time, such instalments were unavailable for us,” “Belorusskie Novosti” learnt from a Belarusian import firm.

They said importers pay for products in advance basis or by instalment of one or two weeks, enough to deliver goods in the country, perform customs clearing, move products to warehouses and buy currency. A possible way out is to find dealers who may redeem the imported products and sell to an importer at a higher price.

Instructions are sent to provinces to take additional measures to cut down import of goods and services, Thus, on November 20 Vitsebsk city executive committee sent letters to enterprises with a demand to cut down import “to a minimum, to the extent of cessation of noncritical consumer’s import”. Officials make reference to the decision of the regional executive committee “On measures for minimization of negative influence of the global financial crisis on the social and economic development of Vitsebsk region”, and to the fact that all targets of the city’s development should be followed rigorously.

In pursuit of fulfillment of targets no holds barred. As we have informed, recently private campaigns who are involved in import, had been administratively ordered targets in export of goods: at least 25% of the volume of import deliveries. But this know-how of some regional administrations hasn’t been realized.

It is worth mentioning that recently officials said that a little part of consumer goods in the total import volume (less than 11%) cannot seriously affect the situation with the foreign trade adverse balance.

Struggle with import has started on the sly under a smokescreen of the global financial crisis. It is obvious that these measures are intended to preserve precious currency in the country and clear storehouses of Belarusian equivalents. Some Belarusian goods, which import equivalents were put on that “black list”, had problems with sales before (bikes, soap, TV sets, watches), and they were amassed in storehouses. It is unlikely that these warehoused goods are to melt now, when in the conditions of the crisis foreign sales markets are dwindling.

Clearing the shelves off the uncritical import, the Trade Ministry issues the challenge for manufacturers and local trade departments to fill shops with “all-embracing range of products produced in the country”. It is planned to ask banks for granting credit resources to wholesale societies in 2009.