Due to the boycott of the goods manufactured in Russia by Ukrainian citizens, some manufacturers from the Russian Federation started requesting to assign Ukrainian barcodes to their products.
As reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Association of Trade Networks Suppliers, the organisation that deals with barcoding is GS1, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Brussels, represented by Association GS1 Ukraine in Ukraine and by Association UNISCAN/GS1 RUS in Russia. In the process the code of the manufacturing country is not necessarily assigned to the goods manufactured there.
According to the Ukrainian Association of Trade Networks Suppliers, stores in Ukraine already have goods with Ukrainian barcodes, while the packaging indicated they have been manufactured in Russia.
Maksym Barchyshyn, the Association’s lawyer, explained that so far the Ukrainian barcode had been usually assigned only to Chinese goods, since the Chinese barcode often failed to meet international requirements.
According to him, under the rules of the GS1 Association, the owner of the trademark (brand) owning the specifications to the goods is the person responsible for obtaining a barcode for the goods, regardless of where and by whom the goods were manufactured. The manufacturer or supplier, as well as an importer or wholesaler, can be such a trademark owner.
In addition, Barchyshyn stressed that the goods’ packaging will have an indication of the manufacturing country (for example, Russia) regardless of the barcode. He also predicts that the practice of barcode changing will not be massive, since it requires time and additional expenses.
As reported earlier by “Racurs”, Brussels has imposed trade and economic sanctions against the Crimea.
Translated by Katherina Smirnova, edited by Alya Shandra
Source: “Racurs”
