KIEV, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of chocolate and chocolate products from Russia, the Ukrainian government said Monday.
The duties of 31.33 percent will be imposed for five years starting from June 21, 2017, said a statement published in the state-run newspaper The Government's Courier.
The decision to impose the restrictive measures came after an investigation found that Russian chocolate and other cocoa-containing products were sold on the Ukrainian market in 2013-2015 at artificially lowered prices, the statement said.
The dumping prices have led to a 20.85-percent reduction in demand for domestically-made chocolate in Ukraine and forced local chocolate makers to cut 11.06 percent of jobs in the industry, it added.
In 2016, Ukraine's imports of chocolate and chocolate products from Russia decreased to 399,000 U.S. dollars from 25 million dollars in 2015.
Last week, Ukraine renewed anti-dumping duties on imports of nitrogen fertilizers from Russia, saying dumping prices have affected local fertilizer producers.
Russia has asked the World Trade Organization to hold consultations over the restrictions.
