‘The decision to put limits on the import of Byelorussian sugar to Russia was taken because of substantial losses incurred by home producers for the last three years due to oversupply of Byelorussian sugar on the market. Imported sugar was almost thrice as cheap as the home-made one,’ Commercial Director of Rosbakaleya Ltd. Alexander Shevchenko said to UrBC.

‘Byelorussia’s four sugar plants appear to be overproducing, so they import almost everything they make to Russia. This sugar is tested at our customs; some samples are used for lab tests, which means there are certain additional costs involved. We are not likely to experience any increase in the amount of sugar imported illegally, since you can’t smuggle entire carriages full of sugar too easily. This is why I don’t believe these newly imposed import limitations are going to affect the sugar prices much,’ he explained.