The share of counterfeiting in the Russian motor oil market can reach 50-60%. This was reported to Russian media by representatives of the Russian Association of Automobile Dealers (ROAD) at a general meeting of members of the association.
Commenting publication in the Nezygar telegram channel on the amount of counterfeits in the auto parts market, ROAD agreed that the same situation is possible with motor oils: “It could very well be, especially given the decision of foreign brands not to only to suspend the work of their Russian divisions, but also of imports to Russia, including through so-called parallel import channels via neighboring countries. With this, the same Shell, Mobil, Castrol are very strict, up to the deprivation of the official status of a distributor of a dealer who violated the established rules. This information was also confirmed by representatives of the Russian motor oil manufacturer SINTEC Group.
Svetlana Kvasova, Director General of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Association, also spoke about the increase in the number of counterfeit Russian media motor oil. According to her, the level of falsification is increasing not only in the oil market, but also in many other areas of production.
“Unfortunately, there is a rapid growth in counterfeit products. We have warned about this. As you know, the controls freeze has been extended for 2023, while parallel imports are ongoing. All this leads to an explosive growth of counterfeit products. The 50-60% figure is very real,” Kvasova said.
According to the expert, the solution to the problem will be the lifting of the moratorium on inspections and the introduction of labeling for categories of goods with a high proportion of counterfeits. According to her, profile associations that face unscrupulous manufacturers also pay attention to it.
Gavriil Grigorov / TASS
“It is very difficult to fight counterfeiting if government agencies do not carry out regular checks. All law-abiding manufacturers are to be ordered in the market. Naturally, the introduction of labeling is necessary, it is a very effective method to identify manufacturers and suppliers of poor quality products,” Krasova believes.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in response to a request from Russian media, noted that an experiment in the labeling of motor oils could be carried out if such proposals were received from federal executive authorities or representatives of the world of business.
“In addition, the issue of combating the illegal circulation of counterfeit oils can be discussed at a meeting of the Interministerial Sectoral Working Group on Combating Illicit Trafficking of Technical Products and Vehicles under the State Commission in order to to analyze, develop and prepare proposals for consideration at a meeting of the State Commission,” they added.
As for the moratorium on inspections, the ministry noted that this topic was discussed at the State Commission in December 2022 and March 2023. In accordance with the decisions of the State Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, together with the Ministry of Economy and Rospotrebnadzor, develops risk indicators for violations of mandatory requirements for labeled product groups to apply a risk-based approach.
Sergei Bobylev / TASS
In March, the Nezygar telegram channel writing on the growth of counterfeit products in the auto parts market. “According to expert estimates, the share of counterfeit products can reach 50-60%. At the same time, the exact sources of its origin have not been established – it is known that a large flow of falsified components and consumables enters the country from Kazakhstan and Armenia. Moreover, experts tend to believe that large-scale production of counterfeit products has also been established in the country,” the channel reported.
In 2019, representatives of the Anticounterfeit association estimated the share of counterfeits among motor oils at 20%, while they noted that in some regions the volume of counterfeiting reaches 60%. At the same time, the great specialist of the CRPT (the operator of the labeling system Chestny Znak) mentioned the creation of a working group to introduce the labeling of motor oils. We do not know why they decided to abandon it.
In April, Gazeta.Ru reported on the growing demand for car engine repair services. By data of the Fit Service automotive service network, in the fourth quarter of 2022, the growth of orders for such repairs was 11% compared to the third quarter, and in the first quarter of 2023 – 7.5%. According to Alexey Ruzanov, technical director of the network, the most frequent cause of breakdowns during this period was the use of counterfeit oils and engine repair kits.
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