May 8 2003, 16:55 UkrInform

Ukraine's government will take to no administrative levers in regulating agricultural market - Vice Premier

Government of Ukraine will use no administrative levers for regulation of agricultural market, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Agriculture Ivan Kyrylenko has told journalists. He said that the main task of the government at the moment was deepening of market reform, started in late 1990's in the agrarian sector. This job is being now vigorously done by the new government, which during the time of its office has elaborated a series of fundamental bills and proposals in the farm sector.

We do not hide our difficulties from people, Kyrylenko said. The government made no secret of the fact that remains of grain in the country's storehouses as of the start of 2003 had been 500,000 tonnes, and therefore some limitation of the grains market took place. Nevertheless, export of Ukrainian wheat was not banned, though it considerably decreased as compared to the previous year. In April this year Ukraine exported 91,400 tonnes of feed wheat, while importing from Kazakhstan in the same period over 50,000 tonnes. Last year grain export in April had made some 400,000 tonnes.

The government will direct its activities primarily to deepening market reform in farming and processing sector, Kyrylenko continued. He said that about 470 million hryvnias ($88.2 million) had been allocated from state budget for the needs of agriculture (for hypotecary purchases and compensation of banking rates to farmers). Negotiations are also underway with one of German banks about crediting Ukrainian farm sector. Kyrylenko expressed hoped that 2-2.5 million tonnes of grain, exported after [this year's] harvest, would be sold to the world market at an acceptable for Ukrainian agrarians price.