News
30.09.2011
Ukraine's economic news Ukrainian farmers to hold rallies protesting against grain export duties
Ukrainian farmers soon will hold protest rallies demanding the cancelation of the grain export duties in effect until the end of 2011, Head of the Agrarian Union of Ukraine Hennadiy Novikov said at the annual food industry forum in Kyiv on Thursday.
He said that the union's council made the decision at a meeting held earlier.
"Farmers have been brought to boiling-point. They decided to hold a rally: strikes and block roads with machinery," he said.
Novikov said that export duties have led to unprofitability of grain production.
He said that UAH 220-230 per tonne would be obtained by those companies that bought grain and can wait for the cancelation of the duties, while farmers have to sell grain so to carry out the sowing campaign.
Novikov added that unreasoned statements of officials that the sunflower oil export duties could be introduced have led to the fall in its price by UAH 1 per tonne.
President of Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, Leonid Kozachenko told Interfax-Ukraine that a decision to hold rallies had also been taken by the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners.
He said that it was planned that from Monday around 50 farmers will start an indefinite hunger strike in Kyiv, and their colleagues will hold another rallies in the regions with the representatives of the Agrarian Union.
Kozachenko said that at present losses from barley production are around 25%, and that for wheat – 10%.
He said that corn and sunflower seeds have profits of around 7-12%, although this is not enough to develop business.
He said that work on the introduction of a law on the land market stirred up by authorities arouses additional protests of farmers, who will meet the start of the market operation at a poor financial state.
