Every second cup of coffee in Ukraine counterfeit, annual budget losses stand at $7 bln - MP

MOSCOW. April 13 (Interfax) - The counterfeit coffee market in Ukraine accounts for around 50% of the country's total coffee consumption, causing the budget to lose some $7 billion in unpaid taxes every year, Ukrainian media quoted head of the Verkhovna Rada finances, tax and customs policy committee Daniil Getmantsev as saying.

"A total of 3.5 kilograms of coffee per capita are consumed in Ukraine, which means that the country consumes some 85,000 to 105,000 tonnes of coffee annually. However, official figures show that only 49,000 tonnes are imported into Ukraine, or half of the volume that really exists," Getmantsev said.

The rest gets into Ukraine using customs value reduction schemes or under the guise of humanitarian aid for Armed Forces personnel, but ends up on shelves at grocery stores, he said.

Getmantsev said he is convinced that "every second cup of coffee in Ukraine is contraband or counterfeit, or not a single kopeck of taxes has been paid on it."

Considerable amounts of raw coffee beans go to clandestine roasteries, where this coffee is roasted and put in packaging of known brands, he said.

"A highly lucrative subdivision of this criminal activity is counterfeiting products of known brands. Entire organized criminal groups specialize in it. If you want to know contraband counterfeit coffee from real coffee, you just can google it and compare the prices - they are three times different," Getmantsev said.

Getmantsev also highlighted threats to people's health, as, according to the parliamentarian, dealers buy the cheapest coffee or coffee with an almost expired shelf life for next to nothing in Europe and, after roasting it, sell this coffee in Ukraine as an expensive brand.