UAE doesn`t confirm suspension of food imports from Ukraine

Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - 11:58 (EEST) Section: Latest news

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not confirm the suspension of imports of Ukrainian food products, according to the press service of the Ukrainian State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Rights Protection.
”According to the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE has not directly prohibited imports of Ukrainian food products, nor has it warned against the quality of Ukrainian products,” the press service said.
The problems arose after the termination of licensing of the Ukrainian Alraid halal center earlier authorized to issue halal certificates in Ukraine. However, this institution received the right to issue such certificates only in February 2014. Prior to that, Ukrainian exporters used other ways of obtaining such certificates, including through alternative certification centers both in Ukraine and abroad, the embassy said.
For its part, the Ukrainian side initiated a meeting with charge d`affaires of the UAE in Ukraine, Ahmed Al-Suwaidi, during which it was stated that the non-recognition of the halal certificates issued by Alraid was a purely technical issue and was not related to the quality of food produced in Ukraine.
Ukraine`s food watchdog asked the United Arab Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology to provide a list of halal centers both in Ukraine and in other countries, which have the right to issue halal certificates for food shipped to the UAE.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Alraid reported in late April 2016 that the UAE had suspended all imports of products from Ukraine with or without halal certificates. Ukraine has not yet been provided with official explanations regarding the situation; however, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Rights Protection believes the import suspension is related only to the expiration of Alraid accreditation.
It is also reported that the Ukrainian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has submitted a request to the World Trade Organization, asking to clarify halal certification procedures.