EUROBAK Committees 2017-2018 | Page 6

FMCG Committee Report Chingiz Kaskeyev FMCG Committee Chairperson EUROBAK FMCG Committee was created as a response to challenges facing companies who produce and sell consumer goods. The executive team is composed of representatives from local producers, importers as well as legal consultants, covering all aspects of FMCG sector. The following priorities for 2016 have been identified by the executive team based on their experience and feedback from EUROBAK member companies. Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) or ‘packaging recycle fee’. This non-tax payment will be paid by all companies, producing, importing and selling consumer goods and electronics. Since this initiative will directly affect companies’ finances, it has been our focus throughout the year. The initial proposal of the government and the ‘EPR Operator’ LTD was not acceptable: KPIs were set as 100%, prices were set up with no realistic grounds, there was no transparency over Operator’s finances, the companies would not get access to decision-making processes or even monitoring its activities, etc. Our main position points regarding EPR were 1) KPIs and recycling prices should be based on research and current recycling capabilities and costs; 2) there should be a special committee inside the Operator, where all parties concerned would review the Operator’s actions; 3) there should be a governing body of the Operator, which would execute public control. We submitted the relevant position paper to the PM Office and the Ministry of Energy, with the issue raised by EUROBAK at the meeting with the Prime Minister. As a result the Ministry and the EPR Operator have accepted all these positions: 1) research is being conducted; 2) a special committee has been created (the EUROBAK FMCG Committee Chairman is a member); 3) a Supervisory Board, consisting of well-known public figures has been introduced. We will indeed continue working on this issue, embracing the idea of extending our responsibility to ecology and recycling, making the process transparent, fair, and minimizing negative effect on business. Other priorities include: • IP rights: we will hold an open committee meeting where we will update on the recent changes regarding IP legislation. • Technical Regulation on Chemical Products: we continue to monitor closely the debates over of EAEU technical regulations ‘On safety of chemical products’ and ‘On safety of detergents and household products’ to make them compliant with OECD recommendations and EU practice. • Advertising of foods high in salt/sugar: we plan to proactively tackle potential advertising restrictions, introducing a voluntary Marketing Code of Conduct in this sphere. • New government stakeholders: we plan to engage with newly created government agencies that have a direct influence on FMCG sector, such as the Committee on Public Health and KazakhExport. • Parallel import: this issue is included in the agenda of EUROBAK’s meeting with the Prime Minister. • Trade law: we plan to closely monitor and inform EUROBAK member companies and mediate with necessity in debates over changing and amending trade legislation initiated and run by the Ministry of Economy.