The Union of Sugar Producers has said that the legal sales of sugar are up, while the contraband flows diminished following the introduction of a new VAT rate on the sugar imported under preferential regime, IPN reports, quoting a communiqué from the Union.

According to the communiqué, the sales of sugar in April rose by about 50% compared with a month before because the Ministry of Economy, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Agriculture, authorized an accessible quota on the import of sugar.

According to the Union of Sugar Producers, the sugar imported from Belarus within the mentioned quota sells better. The VAT of 20% paid by companies importing sugar into the state budget totaled about 22 million lei.

The Union’s executive director Raisa Bejan said the fact that the authorities set a quota on the import of sugar under preferential regime on time enabled to increase the state budget revenues from legal imports and facilitated the normalization of the situation on the sugar market owing to the fact that the volume of contraband was partially reduced.

The Union’s administration said the current quota on the import of sugar under preferential regime will be used up by the middle of June. A new quota will have to be set in order to combat sugar smuggling.