Market traders: It is impossible to fulfil demands of authorities

Sole traders cannot sell non-certified goods within the established deadline.

Many market traders in Zhlobin offer discounts trying to sell shirts, sunglasses and summer footwear for 40,000-100,000 rubles, camarade.biz writes.

“Summer is coming to its end, so it's time for seasonal discounts,” traders say.

It is not the only reason why sole traders hurry to get rid of goods. They have to sell the remaining goods by March 1, otherwise they should either undergo quality assessment and obtain certificates or close their business.

Larysa Stsepaniuk, the owner of a shop of women's clothes, doubts she will be able to sell goods by the established deadline.

“I have about 1,500 items that I must sell by March 1,” she says. “Even if I sell 100 a month, I won't sell even half of them. I don't take into account that I will have to buy additional goods for autumn and winter.”

Market traders show the goods they bought in Belarus, mostly from warehouses in Hrodna, Brest and Minsk.

“Why should we have a certificate for a shirt that was produced in our country?” they wonder. “There's the address of the factory and its phone number on the label. You can contact the manufacturer if you have problems with quality.”

“But our government apparently doesn't like to hear it,” sole trader Alena says. “Perhaps some people will earn huge money on it. We constantly have to pay much money, for example monthly maintenance fees for a cash register. You must pay additional 100,000 every month.”

Larysa Stsepaniuk doesn't understand why she needs certificates for each item.

“For example, I by a lot consisting of five identical shirts. I need to have a certificate on them. If I sell them, I will buy another lot. It's retail sales. We don't buy 200 or 300 skirts. Who needs this number skirts in Zhlobin?”

She doesn't rule out the possibility that clothes and footwear will significantly rise in prices from March 1.

“We have to buy footwear, because you cannot walk barefoot, but we wear clothes for several years. A salary of 3.5 million is considered to be good in the town, though plant workers earn more. You have to pay utility bills, buy food and footwear. How much money will you have for clothes? Little. We will wear old clothes for several years. It's easy to guess what will happen after the mandatory certification on March 1. People will stop buying.”