Unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain in Ukraine

In Ukraine, there is no regulations for unfair trading practices dedicated specifically to the agricultural and food chain. Unfair trading  practices in all sectors are indirectly regulated by competition law rules introduced in 1996 in the Law of Ukraine On Protection From Unfair Competition (latest amendments effective from 16 October 2020), which is the key piece of legislation in this area and also, to some extent and regarding consumers-individuals, by consumer protection rules established in 1991 in the Law of Ukraine On Protection of the Consumers’ Rights (latest amendments effective from 1 July 2021) (regarding individual consumers).

Both suppliers and buyers are protected against unfair trading practices in Ukraine.

There is no specific definition in Ukraine of unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food chain. However, the Law of Ukraine On Protection From Unfair Competition provides a term of unfair competition in general, defining it as any acts in the course of competition contradicting trade usages and other honest practices in commercial activity, including the distribution of misleading information on goods or services, inducing a supplier to discriminate a buyer, etc.

Regarding unfair competition practices, the enforcement mechanism is mainly conducted by the Ukrainian competition authority, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMC”), whereas in terms of the protection of individual consumers, it is also performed by the Ukrainian consumer protection authority, the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (the “Consumer Protection Service”).

The AMC can investigate alleged unfair practices and impose a fine on the breaching entity of up to 5% of its annual turnover for the year preceding the fine.

In turn, the Consumer Protection Service may investigate breaches of the consumers’ rights, e.g. distribution of misleading information regarding a food product, and impose varying fines based on the type and gravity of a breach.

Yes, both the AMC and the Consumer Protection Service are active in their respective fields of activity. Since there is no separate regulation in Ukraine for unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food chain, it is quite difficult to identify cases related purely to unfair trading practices in this sector.

An interesting example is the case of the imposition of significant fines by the AMC in 2015 on several of the largest retailers in Ukraine, including for the alleged forcible imposition on suppliers of such additional services as promotion, marketing, and merchandising provided by certain retailers, as well as burdensome terms of the return of goods. The case, however, was subsequently dismissed through judicial process.

Given that Ukraine is not a member of the EU, it has no obligation to implement the Directive.

In October 2017, the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement Implementation Plan was adopted, which included steps to align national legislation with EU laws. However, the Directive was not included in the Plan.

No.