Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Entrepreneurs claim to stop mass-scale checks of agricultural businesses by power authorities
The Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (USPP) and Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAC) have prepared proposals about urgent measures for stabilisation of the situation in food market and are going to submit them to the Cabinet of Ministers. The issue was discussed on July 24 at a joint sitting of these two non-governmental organisations.
They propose till September 1, 2003 to hold a meeting of the Prime Minister with members of USPP and UAC for discussing the problems, existing in the country's food market. They also claim it necessary to stop the mass-scale checks of law-enforcement bodies and to compensate losses, inflicted to farming and food processing businesses by the actions of these bodies. One of the clauses of the document states the necessity of banning any further official declarations of state officials in mass-media about any crisis-like situations in the country's farming sector without preceding official examination of the issue by the Cabinet of Ministers. The two organisations also consider it necessary that government should continue cooperation with Ukrainian NGO's, concerned with farming and food processing business.
USPP and UAC think there is a real threat at the moment to further market reformation of Ukrainian economy, and return to Soviet-like command and administrative system of management is possible.
"We consider such state of events to be unacceptable. There are no objective reasons for development of the situation in such a way", the document of the two organisations states.
Commenting on the prepared proposals, the President of Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation Leonid Kozachenko has said that one of the main causes of rush demand in the food market was numerous inspections of law-enforcement bodies, interfering with normal operations of the companies.
"Interference of local executive and law-enforcement bodies into the work of the companies and the attempts of state administrative regulation of most of retail prices for agricultural products were not always competent", Kozachenko said.
"The checks of 10,000 organisations have resulted in starting just 11 criminal cases, which proves that these actions have caused rather destabilisation than settlement of the situation", he added.
The USPP President Anatoly Kinakh in his comment has said that the current powers by their actions have been making a stereotype of enemy out of the image of the entrepreneur.
"[The entrepreneur] is the person who provides vital activity of the country, who produces goods, creates jobs and fills the budget. We are protesting against discrediting the image of the entrepreneur", said A. Kinakh.