The Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has asked Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) Ihor Bilous to consider the possibility of the quick transfer of agricultural companies to the fund to accelerate their privatization.

"With the purpose of accelerating the processes of privatization we ask to consider the proposal on the urgent transfer of companies that are to be liquidated, reorganized and privatized from the management of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry to the management of the SPF," the ministry said.

Expert from the Fund for the development of Ukrainian rural areas and financial analyst Yuriy Tarasenko said that the SPF could accept state-run enterprises that are subject to privatization at the level of ministry-SPF relations, and those companies that are not subject to privatization could be transferred under a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers after lifting a ban on their privatization by the parliament.

The ministry is ready to transfer 429 economic entities to the SPF, 209 of which are in the process of liquidation, 127 are being reorganized via joining other companies and 42 (in particular, Artyomsol and Ukrspyrt) should be removed from the list of companies that are not eligible for privatization.

The ministry said that only 15% of enterprises that will be transferred to the SPF are located in Kyiv city and region, and the rest of the companies are located in other regions.