Piskarevsky dairy plant is almost ready to labeling its products
He said that Piskarevsky dairy plant is already registered in the "Honest Mark" system, and the products of the company are in the national catalog of dairy products. ‘Currently, we are working on testing the application and reading of codes on the packaging. Now we are waiting for the delivery of the remaining equipment necessary for labeling. According to preliminary data, all the remaining equipment for working under the new rules will be installed by May of this year. All our contractors, including packaging suppliers, are ready to cooperate and are waiting for us to install the necessary equipment. About 100 million rubles have already been spent for these purposes,’ Georgy Zhitmarev added.
According to his estimates, it is already possible to say that about 80% of labeling will be applied by printing, the rest – by direct application and with the help of self-adhesive tape.
He reminded that since June 1, labeling will need to be applied to cheeses and ice cream. ‘We will have time to see how the introduction of labeling will take place with these ‘manufacturers and use, among other things, their experience. Our turn to apply labeling codes will come on September 1, 2021,’ the source reported to The Dairy News.
According to the forecasts of Georgy Zhitmarev, the expected costs of labeling will only grow. Annually, the costs of Piskarevsky dairy plant will amount to about 200 million rubles, they will go to pay to CATD for connecting to the Honest Mark system (60 kopecks per unit of product) and to pay to printing houses for labeling (40 kopecks per unit of product). Meanwhile, only at Piskarevsky dairy plant, about 200 million units of products per year will be subject to labeling, that is, about 120 million rubles per year will have to be spent on labeling.
At the same time, according to estimates of Soyuzmoloko, in total, about 20 billion units of products per year will be subject to labeling in the dairy industry.
"We thought about if there is any other way to compensate for our costs for these activities, other than raising prices, and came to the conclusion that we do not see any other ways yet. Other manufacturers are in the same situation.
Although theoretically, the state could compensate at least part of the costs of manufacturers to connect to the Honest Mark, for example, to reduce the fee from 60 to 6 kopecks. Such a measure would greatly support the enterprises and allow them to reduce the financial burden on them, as well as partially compensate for the costs of paying for the services of CATD,’ concluded Georgy Zhitmarev.
