Usually the commercial arm wrestling between Russia and Ukraine explodes in the winter over gas scandals. But since early this year, Russia and Ukraine have engaged in a chocolate war, as Ukrainian candy giant Roshen's chocolates and confectionery were banned in Russia.
The ban, announced by the Russian health authorities in late July, blocks imports of the popular Ukrainian chocolate brand. On September 21 at the Yalta European Strategy conference, Petro Poroshenko, founder of Roshen, and Sergey Glaziev, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, publicly clashed over the chocolate dispute and a recent trade war between Russia and Ukraine.
So why has Russia banned the import of Roshen's candy products?
The official statement claimed that the restrictions were caused by repeated violations of sanitary norms and that, benzopyrene, a harmful chemical component, has been found in Roshen's chocolate tablets sold in Russia. Roshen denies the accusations, claiming in the past 15 years any complaints from any customers have resulted in detailed investigation and verification.
23 Sen2013
