Cheese war could see resolution today; encouraging for Milkiland

The head of Russia’s consumer rights watchdog Hennadiy Onischenko is scheduled to meet with Ukraine’s Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko today, Unian reported yesterday, citing a ministry source. The key topic of discussion will be the Russian regulator’s ban of Ukrainian cheese imports. According to the source, the two sides could be on the verge of reaching a resolution to the cheese war at today’s meeting in Kyiv.

Yegor Samusenko: Provided it isn’t an April’s Fool joke, Onischenko’s visit would be Poroshenko’s first victory in his new role as a minster, and the visit significantly raises the chances that the trade dispute will be shorter than we expected (see our news and note on Milkiland from March 30). That said, given the still-contradictory statements from both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, we recommend keeping an eye on the results of today’s meeting and as yet we do not revise our position on the resolution of the tiff (July 2012). Nevertheless, Milkiland shares could well receive a boost based on expectations of a favourable resolution.