November 14 2002, 16:10 APK-Inform

Ukraine's agriculture less profitable than last year - Deputy Prime Minister

Profit of Ukraine's agrarian and industrial complex in 2002 is expected at the level of 800 million hryvnias ($148 million), Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Leonid Kozachenko said November 14.

He said farms of different ownerships are forecast to receive 200 to 250 million hryvnias less profits than last year. The main causes of such a drop, he thinks, are rise in costs of supplies and drop in prices for farming produce.

Besides, he thinks, banking system has importantly contributed to the cut of farmers' profits, providing loans to agricultural producers this year on conditions of high interests.

In 2001 profitability of agriculture was 9.1 percent. Actual profits of farming sector reached 1.3 billion hryvnias ($240.7 million). For several years preceding 2000 Ukraine's agriculture had produced a yearly loss of around 3.4 billion hryvnias.