Expert: WTO membership could cost Ukraine 40 sugar factories

Ukraine's entry into the World Trade Organization could force the closure of 40 sugar factories in the country, said National Association of Sugar Producers Chairman Pyotr Borisyuk.

The association's press service told Rosbalt that the WTO's production quota of 260 thousand tones of sugar would leave 40 sugar factories in Ukraine idol. Nevertheless, according to Deputy Agriculture Minister Grigory Omelyanenko, Ukraine has agreed to the WTO's terms. According to official statistics, Ukraine has 192 sugar factories which produce 5 million tones of sugar annually. Meanwhile, Ukrainians consume 2 million tones of sugar per year.