The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects that Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada will adopt a law on agricultural land circulation in May 2017 that will allow for the removal of the moratorium on land sales.

"Parliamentary approval of the law on agricultural land circulation is expected by end-May 2017 (a modification and new deadline for the missed end-September 2016 structural benchmark), allowing for the current moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to expire by the end of 2017," reads a memorandum signed by Ukraine and the IMF posted on the IMF's website.

As reported, the Ukrainian government initially expected that the bill on agricultural land circulation will be passed by the end of December 2016. Instead, Verkhovna Rada at the end of October extended a moratorium on agricultural land sale imposed in 2002 until 2018.

Parliament instructed its committees and Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry to draw up relevant bills within six months. Later several lawmakers from the parliamentary coalition submitted bill No. 5535 on agricultural land circulation to the parliament.