July 23 2003, 15:30 APK-Inform

Agriculture Ministry, Ministry of Economy and some other authorities are guilty of rush demand in Ukraine's food market - Yanukovych

Ukraine's government considers guilty in the situation, arisen in the country's food market, Ministry of Agrarian Policy, Ministry of Economy, Ukraine's Anti-Monopoly Committee and some regional authorities, Prime Minister of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych said at the sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers Wednesday.

He said some mistakes had been made at the state level. In particular, he said the checks were confirming the conclusion that grains balance, which used to be produced up to recent time by Agrarian Policy and Economy Ministries, had been "torn out from life" and not corresponding to reality.

"Grain trade is an over-profitable business. There ought to be no uncontrollable use and exports of food grain", he said.

He said the names of the companies, who had drawn over-profits from rush demand and had purposely created it by their actions, were already known. These very companies appeared to be a tool in the hands of political forces, which used them for their benefit, said Yanukovych, not providing though any names.

"We must do everything so that nothing of the kind was repeated in the future", he said. He said that the Cabinet at today's sitting was going to approve the plan of urgent measures, which would be efficiently improving the situation in Ukraine as a whole.

He also said that at today's meeting the Cabinet was "to determine concrete names" and the persons, guilty in rush demand, would be brought to responsibility.