July 3 2002, 21:32 Interfax-Ukraine

Russians think that import duties for agricultural products should be the same in Russia and Ukraine

Import duties for agricultural products in Russia and Ukraine should be the same, thinks Sergey Danquert, Russia's First Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

As he said on July 3, the same level of duties would prevent exports of products to Russia via Ukraine, as duties on some of them in Ukraine are lower. Butter would be a good example, according to Mr. Danquert, as butter import duty for batter is 20% in Russia, and only a 5% in Ukraine. As a result, a large portion of butter imported to Ukraine is then re-exported to Russia without duty, which aggravates the situation on the Russian market. Danquert also claimed that similar situation is noted for dry milk and poultry mince. He believes that the same size of duties should be established before the two countries enter WTO.