Ukrainian farmers call on the government to abandon innovations in the regulation of grain exports

The Ukrainian Grain Association is concerned about the initiatives of new legislative regulation of grain export, when the new export rules introduced by the government of Ukraine have already started to operate on the market. The Association noted that currently in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, people's deputies have already registered a number of alternative draft laws, "which are allegedly aimed at improving the regulation of the grain market, while the grain industry is trying to restore grain exports in war conditions, including through a temporary humanitarian corridor."

"We believe that the recent introduction by the CMU of new rules for the export of agricultural products, which are just starting to work, should be tested for effectiveness and not create obstacles for the export of Ukraine, which is critically important for the state, budget and defense. Market participants hope that the new export rules will facilitate the work of exporters who work transparently and fully comply with the requirements of the law regarding the return of foreign exchange earnings from exports to the country," the agrarians said in a statement.

At the same time, UZA believes that the appearance of a large number of legislative initiatives in the parliament aimed at regulating grain exports, when the export system in accordance with the new rules has not yet been worked out, may complicate the situation even on such a fairly regulated grain market and lead to a significant reduction in exports, and therefore decrease in grain prices for Ukrainian farmers.

Hasty legislative innovations in the context of the government's implementation of new export rules can significantly worsen the working conditions for responsible and conscientious exporters. Thus, the proposed draft laws actually propose the introduction of manual export regulation through indicative prices, when any tax official or customs officer will be able to block each individual export operation at his own discretion, which significantly increases the risk of corruption.

It should be noted that agrarians consider the most controversial decision to be the bills on the fight against "black" export of grain and the non-return of foreign exchange earnings, which were supported by the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy. As People's Deputy Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported, the tax bill is aimed at combating "black" grain and the non-return of foreign exchange earnings. Before the second reading, the draft law will be significantly revised together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Zheleznyak also reported that the committee from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy gave an assessment of the non-return of foreign exchange earnings from the export of agricultural products at the level of 4-6 billion dollars.

Project 10168-2 proposes that the basis of taxation for the export of grain and oilseeds is the contractual (contract) value of such goods, but not less than the average index of international exchange quotations for such goods for every 10th calendar day of the month. Project 10169-2 provides for a ban on exports if the contractual (contract) value of the exported goods is lower than the average of international stock market quotations for such goods for every 10th calendar day of the month.