Hides supplies from the Ukraine can be expected to tighten following the government’s closure of a loophole that was used by many traders to export their hides duty free.

In its resolution of May 6, the Ukrainian parliament imposed an across-the-board export duty of 400 euros ($350) per ton of cow hide, 170 euros per ton of pork hide and 1 euro per individual sheep hide. The development means an end to the duty exemption for hides exported for higher-quality processing, and which was exploited by unscrupulous traders who would simply send the hides straight to their export customers. They would use falsified paperwork to prove that they had re-imported the processed hides – the net result being non-payment of duty.

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