Ukrainian agricultural sector faces some financial, administrative, logistical problems since start of war – UAC

KYIV. Aug 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – During the war, Ukrainian farmers faced a number of new problems, including in the field of export VAT administration, land tax in the occupied territories, rising fuel prices, queues at border checkpoints, etc.

Head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC) Andriy Dykun spoke about new challenges in the agro-industrial complex and proposals for their solution on the air of Yuriy Romanenko’s TV show "Administrative paralysis of the Cabinet of Ministers: what is wrong with economic policy."

So, according to him, the government should return to farmers the pre-war format of VAT refunds for exports, as well as fully abolish the accrual of land tax in the temporarily occupied territories.

"At the beginning of the war, the Rada adopted a law according to which businesses that find themselves in the occupied territory do not pay taxes. Further, the Verkhovna Rada instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to define within three months what "occupied territories" are. There is no such definition to date. Farmers were forced to leave cultivated land, but at the same time they must continue to pay land tax for them," Dykun said during the television broadcast.

The head of the UAC said that it is necessary to fight for the return of the territories occupied by the Russians, including by economic methods, however, it is illogical to demand payment of land tax from the occupied areas.

Dykun also said that the introduction of an electronic queue for vehicles can solve the problem of multi-day queues of grain trucks at the borders and ports, and fuel imports into the country can be increased by transporting it in grain trucks in special containers on the way back from Europe to Ukraine.

"The price of fuel has doubled. There is an easy-to-implement solution – the use of [polymer] flexitanks, which are filled with diesel and installed in grain trucks when the latter return from Europe to Ukraine after grain is shipped," the head of the UAC said.

He also pointed out the lack of standards for the mobilization of equipment, when equipment for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is often taken from the same farmers. This issue can be resolved by establishing standards for its mobilization at the legislative level.

In addition, Dykun called on the authorities to introduce an electronic booking system for agricultural workers with transparent and understandable rules, and to extend state guarantees to banks for loans taken by the agricultural sector.

"There is the lack of extension of state guarantees to the bank. In the spring, farmers took out loans for the sowing season. So far, the banks rightly demand payment for loans, but farmers have nothing to give back, since the grain has not yet been exported and sold. There is no other way out, how to extend the system of state guarantees, until farmers will take out the grain and will not receive payments under the contracts," Dykun said, summing up the key problems of the agricultural industry.