Photo from UNIAN
About 50-70% of all equipment in some categories of goods was imported and sold illegally, according the EBA Committee's estimates.
Manager of the Consumer Electronics Committee of the European Business Association (EBA) Voktoriia Kulykova says smuggling, that is, goods illegally imported into Ukraine, is estimated at US$10 billion annually.
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"According to a recent Ukraine Economic Outlook study, the amount of smuggling, illegally imported goods in general, not only household appliances and electronics, is about US$10 billion annually, while household appliances and electronics alone account for over 20%. That is really a lot," she said on October 7, following a roundtable discussion.
According the Committee's estimates, about 50-70% of all equipment in some categories of goods was imported and sold illegally, the expert added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that smuggling in Ukraine will be stopped by the end of 2019.
Earlier, he assured that the volume of smuggling had decreased significantly.
In late August 2019, Zelensky's adviser, Executive Director at the Bleyzer Foundation Oleh Ustenko said the elimination of smuggling in Ukraine and increased exports will ensure 7% economic growth annually. In his opinion, stopping smuggling flows will allow accumulating several billion dollars a year and, accordingly, providing an additional impetus for economic growth.