Yesterday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture submitted 11
bills to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) to be passed into law.
I’ll be the first admit I struggle to fathom how Ukraine’s
Parliament functions but if I understand correctly, if the Verkhovna Rada
vote these bills through then they go on to be law.
Of the 11 bills submitted, seven have already been
considered by committees of Parliament and recommended for adoption which
sounds like a shoo-in.
Leaving aside the process, I think the bills give a useful
insight into the direction Ukraine’s agriculture and food business is going in.
The first bill is the de-monopolisation of the alcohol
industry, specifically it seems the privatisation of the state owned alcohol
producer, Ukrspirt, who produce vodka and industrial alcohol which I can imagine
is a lucrative business in Ukraine.
The official line is there is a need to promote the legalisation
of the alcohol market to attract investment but it will be worth watching to
see who gets to benefit from its privatisation.
Other bills include organic farming; baby nutrition; food
safety; land issues; regulation of sugar production and sales; insurance of
agricultural production; European integration; export duties on live cattle and
rawhide and something to do with documents for grain storage.