Ukrainian Supermarkets Want Suppliers to Pay for Goods Destroyed by Russian Attacks

Ukrainian supermarket chains are asking suppliers to bear some or all of the cost of products destroyed by Russian attacks before the retailers make a final payment, according to Ekonomichna Pravda.

Under the proposed changes, NOVUS, Silpo, and Fora would pay suppliers only 50 percent of the value of any goods lost before settlement. ATB would pay nothing for destroyed merchandise in the same period, shifting the entire loss onto producers.

Today, products become the retailer’s property once accepted at a warehouse or distribution center, but manufacturers are still paid 30 to 50 days after shipment. Because the goods remain unpaid and physically in the retailer’s hands during that window, the new terms would leave suppliers carrying—or sharing—the inventory risk for weeks after delivery, even though ownership has technically transferred.

Food and consumer-goods producers worry that if one manufacturer agrees, the chains will use that concession as leverage in negotiations with the rest. They also warn that absorbing these losses would force companies to raise prices, leaving Ukrainian households to pay the cost of Russian strikes through higher grocery bills.