January 30 2008, 09:43

Ukraine: yes to sales, no to purchase of agricultural lands

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine waived the extension of the moratorium for agricultural lands sale till 2010. It means that the trade of agricultural lands may start any time, as soon as the Parliament adopts two draft Laws able to make the land market of the country work, www.1k.com.ua informs.

The term of 10 year moratorium for the sales of Ukrainian agricultural land has been extended several times; although, the time was up on the 1st of January 2008. There was a feeling on the eve of this data that the moratorium was likely to be extended again. Julia Timoshenko, the Prime Minister is unalterably opposed to this decision despite of Victor Yuschenko, the President of Ukraine, who stands for free trade of agricultural hectares. Prime Minister announces this is not the time to put land to the free commercial turnover because the land market has not been created in the country yet.

As a result, the Rada did not extend the moratorium; but, the start of the sales of agricultural land plots is postponed till the moment when the market legislation is regulated.

So, nobody trades land in Ukraine, and no trade will be possible until the Laws "About State Land Cadastre" and "About Land Market" are adopted, Vladimir Dmitrusenko, the Deputy Chief of Republican Committee on Land Resources informed.

Ukraine is the state with a great land potential which amounts to 5.7% of the territory of Europe. Out of 60.3 mln. hectares of Ukrainian lands almost 70% are agricultural lands with the highest fertility index on the Earth. According to the experts' estimations, the land of Ukraine costs around $64.7 trillions in total.