The market is going to be forced in the "shadow"

According to the Cabinet of Ministers 70 million exemplars of foreign books are imported in Ukraine currently; the total circulation volume of Ukrainian books is 54 million of exemplars and 49% of them are text books and manuals. "I don’t know where Vyacheslav Kyrylenko has got this data. According to customs services, about 25-30 million of books are imported in Ukraine annually", Konstantin Klimashenko, the director of the “Orfey” book chain, said.

"According to the legislation, quotas must be introduced at the level of the average number of books imported during the last 5 years. That means that the number of imported books will not change significantly next year. If the quotas are going to be harsher they will lead to increase in contraband.

Currently 50% of Ukrainian book market is “in the shadow”. After introduction of quotas this ratio will increase. So the government will only get lower budget revenues as a result", Klimashenko said. Alexandra Koval, the president of the Forum of Publishers, has the same opinion. "Introduction of quotas can destroy all positive achievements of Ukrainian book business gained during several past years, e.g. creation of the distribution chain", she thinks.