Kazakhstan producers oppose labeling of dairy products

Источник: uchet.kz
Representatives of milk processing enterprises of East Kazakhstan, owners of grocery stores and employees of the Department of Agriculture of East Kazakhstan Region gathered at the site of the Regional Chamber of Entrepreneurs to discuss a pilot project on the introduction of a system of labeling and traceability of dairy products. Entrepreneurs are totally against this project, which will increase the cost of products for the final consumer one and a half times, according to Accounting.kz with reference to the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) Atameken.

The program for the introduction of equipment for labeling goods was initiated by the EAEU and is already operating in Russia and Belarus, and currently a pilot project is being tested in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the introduction of labeling is to track the initial data about the product: when, where, by whom and fr om what it was produced. Seven enterprises were selected throughout the country to participate in the pilot, including LLP Emil in East Kazakhstan.

On August 19, the project operator JSC Kazakhtelecom invited representatives of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of East Kazakhstan Region to the production side of LLP Emil, wh ere a test launch of equipment carrying out labeling on milk and kefir filling lines was carried out.

‘After reviewing the process, we came to the consensus that in its current form it will seriously slow down production. We looked at how the filling is carried out and how QR codes are displayed. It turned out that QR codes are located in different places on packages, and sometimes two codes on one package, in addition, they are often cut off during the cutting process. There were other significant comments to the process, and in general we found the result unsatisfactory, that is, their system did not work properly,’ Kairat Mamyrbayev, Director of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of East Kazakhstan Region, commented on the test launch of the equipment.

The result of the trial run was the decision that LLP Emil will do a full calculation - it will calculate all the costs that will need to be borne regarding the introduction of the labeling line, and how they will affect the final cost of products for consumers.

On August 27, at the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of East Kazakhstan Region, Director of LLP Emil, Anna Aberle, presented the calculations made to the sellers of dairy products and representatives of LLP Vostok-Moloko, from which it follows that only at the exit of labeled products from the enterprise, its cost will increase by 29%, taking into account the need to purchase equipment and software, labeling itself, additional staff units and payment to the operator of JSC Kazakhtelecom 3.5 tenge for each labeled item of products.

"With this result of the pilot project, we will go further together with the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of East Kazakhstan Region, the Dairy Union of Kazakhstan, the Association of Entrepreneurs to the Ministry of Agriculture to prove what they want, for what money and for what it is necessary. That is, if the state still does not refuse to implement this system, then we should recommend that the electronic system of invoices, virtual warehouse and SNT be coordinated with this labeling system. Otherwise, let them provide financial resources to everyone for the implementation of the system. My specific task was to show at what cost we will eventually receive products by implementing this project,’ explained Anna Ervinovna.

The entrepreneur proposed to supplement her calculations with the costs of the final sellers of products, which they will have to incur in the event of the introduction of labeling. This is the salary of an accountant and an additional staff unit that will be responsible for receiving labeled products, replacing cash registers with a process automation system worth about 1 million tenge. In total, 40-50% of the additional costs will be included in the cost of products, the participants of the meeting calculated. For example: a liter of milk, which costs 420 tenge today, will cost customers 600 tenge (!!!).

‘Since January 2021, we have been working for 8 months to abolish the labeling of cigarettes in retail. Now the labeling of dairy products has started. We have calculated all retail expenses for a long time and now we understand perfectly well: we do not need labeling in the Republic! We strive to make sure that the labeling is applied to wholesalers or manufacturers, otherwise this reporting will be very big for us and bring huge costs! Moreover, they (the initiators and the operator of the project. – Editor’s note) will constantly press on production workers, they will bring new equipment and implement it all until they achieve their goal,’ individual entrepreneur Vladimir Berdnik expressed the opinion of retail sellers of products.

The situation will worsen even more in 2023, when the tax holidays for businesses will end and the margin on goods sold will reach 30%. Now grocery stores keep a surcharge on dairy products up to 20%, but after a little more than a year this will become impossible, because no one will work at a loss.

In order to prevent the predicted events, the business community considers it necessary to create a working group and participate in the process at all its stages – in particular, when the project operator brings updated equipment to LLP Emil and begins conducting the following tests. In addition, it is necessary to send the calculations made today to the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, the central office of NCE Atameken, JSC Kazakhtelecom, in order to show the burden on business and the final consumer of dairy products. This will be handled by representatives of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of East Kazakhstan Region. 

"We demand that they do not impose on us what is not profitable for us! And we hope that LLP Emil will hold out,’ Vladimir Berdnik summed up and made a proposal to record every step and any further calculations in the form of protocols in order to operate with specific documented facts before the initiators of the project.

We will definitely tell you about how the events around the pilot labeling project will develop further in our subsequent publications in the media and social networks.
30.01.2024
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