February 11 2003, 14:06 Interfax-Ukraine

Unprofitable alcohol plants in Ukraine will be closed

Ministry of Agrarian Policy together with the Ministry of Economy and State Tax Administration till March 1 will have established the list of state-owned alcohol producing plants which have no development perspectives and will be thus closed down.

According to agrarian ministry's estimates, the closure of unprofitable plants and more efficient distribution of workload for the ones, remaining in operation, will enable to receive in this year an extra profit in the amount of 61 million hryvnias ($11.438 million).

For each plant a schedule will be worked out of liquidation of budget indebtedness and indebtedness in wages. Employment contracts will be cancelled with top managers of those plants, where wage indebtedness has been unjustifiably increasing.

Besides that, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in order to improve operational efficiency of state-owned alcohol, liqueur & vodka producing and distillery plants, suggest eliminating the ban for their privatisation.

The Ministry will also consider the expediency of imports to Ukraine of cognac spirits. In particular, in order to retain domestic production of cognacs, it is proposed to import this year 2 million dekalitres of cognac spirit.

Additionally, the agrarian ministry intends to hold negotiations with municipal authorities of Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg about supplies of Ukrainian alcohol products to these mega cities.