Before adopting law on single book price, industry standard for discounts must be developed - UPA Head Bidenko
Head of the Ukrainian Publishers Association (UPA) Artem Bidenko states that before adopting a law on a single book price, it is necessary to reach an agreement between publishers and book distributors and develop a certain industry standard for working with discounts.
"In fact, the problem of a single price today is a problem of book distributors. Because we have chains that provide very large discounts. And, in essence, they try to force publishers to agree to certain terms regarding discounts. They say: ‘I want a 40% discount, if you don’t want to – goodbye.’ And that is their right, I am not criticizing these chains right now. But when we discuss a single price within the association, 70% of publishers support this decision. At the same time, everyone says that even if this is adopted at the level of law, it will not necessarily be implemented, because some players will be able to use cashback instead of a discount, and if cashback is banned, they will come up with something else, for instance, conventional gifts," Bidenko said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency, commenting on the need to adopt the law "On a Single Book Price."
He emphasized that the law should exist, but without an agreement between book distributors and publishers on how they will work with discounts, there is no point in moving this issue forward.
"We are currently in the process of this: working to develop certain values and a baseline from which we will start talking to each other. We have to solve the problem with discounts. It cannot be solved by law, or by an order of the Ministry of Culture, or by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers. It is solved by internal standards," the head of the UPA emphasized.
When asked how ready the market players are for such a dialogue, Bidenko stated that everyone understands that a confrontation in the field of discounts will lead to a drop in the market, so there must be some solution.
"Everyone says: ‘Yes, a single price is this solution, but we are afraid that if we adhere to it, our competitor will not.’ Therefore, today the solution lies in making self-regulation work: so that we agree among ourselves and start adhering to this," he added.
According to him, before adopting a law on a single price, it is necessary to develop a certain industry standard, and this will take from six months to a year.
As reported, at the end of 2025, bookstore owners and publishers predicted a crisis in the industry and noted that they were looking for ways to mitigate threats; among the proposed solutions were state support, inter-industry dialogue, a law on a single price, and the fight against piracy. In particular, in this context, the issue of the need for a single retail price was discussed, which will allow providing equal conditions for small and large players.
In particular, the subject of discussion is the preparation of a draft law on a single price, which should include: an electronic registry maintained by the UPA of all new titles and reprints (without retroactive effect on old print runs) with the right to change prices once every six months (quarter) only by the publisher; a ban on lowering prices by more than 10% without written approval by the publisher; a ban for publishers and distributors on promotional campaigns during the first six months for new titles from the date of entry into the registry; a system of fines for violators; and conditions for final clearance sales.
Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine Bohdana Laiuk believes that a regulated price for books is a very good idea to work through and try to understand how it can be adapted to the Ukrainian market.