October 18 2004, 11:58 APK-Inform

Heavy smuggles of meat to Ukraine create outward appearance of price stabilisation - oppositional parliamentary

According to LigaBusinessInform agency, The Head of Lvov Headquarter of the oppositional presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, People's Deputy of Ukraine Petro Oliynyk considers mass-scale deliveries of smuggled meat to Ukraine to be an attempt of creating an outward appearance of price stabilisation on Ukrainian meat market, in order to outweigh the public opinion before the presidential elections in favour of the candidate from current power, the acting PM Viktor Yanukovych.

According to Mr. Oliynyk, large amounts of meat are being currently delivered to Ukraine illegally, without payment of any taxes.

"This meat is mostly substandard. As soon as no one will make such great number of slaughters, the meat is being taken from refrigerators of profound freezing", he says.

He also said that since the meat was being smuggled, it was coming up to the market without any safety control procedures carried out.

"Meat smuggles are strangling Ukrainian producer, who is edged round by taxes and thus put into unfavourable position on the competitive market. This is another farce [of the current power], which not only threatens to kill the national meat industry, but is menacing the people's health, since the meat is not subjected even to the simplest health safety control", said Mr. Oliynyk.

"You may believe me: I live in western Ukraine and I'm very well informed about situation on the frontiers. Trucks with smuggled meat are arriving in huge numbers, and this may end in an awful catastrophe", he said.