Ukraine & Belarus: Neighbours agree to restart beer and milk imports

Ukraine agreed on May, 3 to restart imports of Belarussian milk suspended in March after Belarus promised to drop restrictions on imports of beer produced by its neighbour, Belarussian state news agency BelTA reported.

The agreement settles a three-way trade war between ex-Soviet nations Russia, Ukraine and Belarus that has been shaking the region's dairy market since February.

Ukraine said in March the ban was caused by excessive amounts of veterinary drugs present in milk and milk products from Belarus.

Belarus, in turn, has restricted Ukrainian beer imports since 2010, accusing its producers of dumping.

The March spat between Ukraine and Belarus followed a ban by Belarus' ally Russia on cheese imports from several Ukrainian companies which threatened to bankrupt the Ukrainian dairy industry but was mostly resolved last month.

04 May, 2012