AURA Forms at Rospotrebnadzor
// Gennady Onishchenko's Ideas Find Support in the Liquor Market
Kommersant has learned that a new group has recently been formed in the liquor market: the Association of Liquor Merchants (AURA). The association immediately voiced its support of recent initiatives proposed by Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief sanitary officer and the head of the Russian Trade and Sanitary Inspection Authority (Rospotrebnadzor). These initiatives, which are aimed at reinvigorating the quality control system for alcohol production, leave many in the market convinced that AURA was created by Rospotrebnadzor itself to serve the interests of Onishchenko's department.
"I have observed how other such associations operate," said Valery Katukov, president of AURA and a colonel in the medical reserve corps. "And I had to wonder – why have associations that are charged with defending the interests of the business community done nothing thus far? We, however, will succeed in opening a dialogue with the government." According to Katukov, who until recently was chief of accounts and operations for the Federal Road Agency, AURA will advocate voluntary quality control checks carried out by the liquor companies themselves. "In this manner, companies will be insured against charges of poor quality being leveled against their products once those products have been imported into Russia," he said.
Several unspecified legal entities were involved in the association's founding. Although Katukov declined to elaborate, he did note that the group already has about ten members, including two small wine importers, Veda Market and Moro. The new organization was registered with the Justice Ministry on July 18 of this year.
The ideas espoused by AURA coincide with initiatives put forth by last week by Onishchenko, Russia's chief sanitary officer (see Kommersant's article from August 11). The head of Rospotrebnadzor, hoping to improve the quality of liquor sold in Russia, has proposed an overhaul of the market's system of quality control. The new system could pour additional revenues of up to 10 billion rubles into Rospotrebnadzor every year.
Schemes similar to AURA have already been tried at the regional level. For example, the Krasnoyarsk region has the Yenisey Alcohol Association, founded by regional government official Viktor Anokhin, which has also advocated voluntary oversight of quality control. Meanwhile, the local government has attempted by various means to block the sale of products made by liquor companies who refuse to pay to go through a certification process.
Katukov has admitted to Kommersant that his association has close ties with Rospotrebnadzor and that AURA is considering granting Rospotrebnadzor a spot on its advisory board. Onishchenko's department refused to comment yesterday, but Onishchenko himself has already agreed to meet with members of the association to discuss issues affecting the market.
Others are certain that AURA is working in Rospotrebnadzor's interest. Osman Paragulkov, head of the Alcohol Producer's Union, notes that "the association has offered to operate without any membership dues," even though "without dues, no organization can hope to survive. This means that the association hopes to get its support from other sources, but I don’t see any that are official or legal." "Rospotrebnadzor will require a middleman to collect revenues from carrying out quality control checks," said Viktor Alekseev, head of the company Kristal-Lefortovo. "After all, Rospotrebnadzor cannot manage it alone."
by
Roman Ovchinnikov
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 15, 2006
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