The American company Johnson & Johnson will stop supplying contact lenses to Russia, as it warned its Russian partners. At the same time, Dmitry Pogrebinsky, general director of the Protek distribution company, told Interfax that no such warnings had been received at the expense of other J&J products.
According to Pogrebinsky, there is no need to fear a shortage of contact lenses, since none of the foreign suppliers has left the Russian market to this day. “Even if Johnson & Johnson for some reason, logistical or otherwise, stops supplying contact lenses, there are other companies that (they) supply,” the businessman said.
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia issued a statement saying that in the event of a cessation of supplies of contact lenses, the department will promptly consider the issue of their inclusion in the list of parallel import goods.
Store owners interviewed by Kommersant FM on the eve believe, on the contrary, that Russia is threatened with a shortage of contact lenses or at least a significant increase in prices. According to one of the interlocutors of the radio station, J&J lenses occupied 40-50% of the Russian market.
On May 19, the US Department of Commerce expanded the list of goods that are prohibited from being shipped to Russia, including contact lenses and sunglasses.