Extra imports duty in 2015 to force farmers to save on material resources, harvest, exports to fall, says UCAB

12:03, 05.01.2015 2 min read

The law on stabilizing Ukraine's balance of payment, which introduced an additional import duty of 5-10%, has had negative consequences for the agriculture industry, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) has said.

"First, this means the proportional increase in the prices of seeds by 10% and plant protection agents by 5% for Ukrainian agriculture. The newest technological productions tools will no longer be available for Ukrainian agricultural producers, and in the future the yield of crops will fall. This will result in a decline in export potential and income by some UAH 4.8 billion," reads a UCAB press release issued last week.

The association said that 50% of seeds, and 95% of plant protection agents in the Ukrainian market are imported products. Due to reduced production expenses grain crops harvest could fall by some 14.2 million tones next year, for oilseeds – by 4.8 million tonnes, the UCAB stated.

"Taking into account the fact that a large part of Ukrainian grain and oilseed harvest is export-oriented, the new duty will hit not only the pockets of producers but also the whole country. According to our estimates, exports of grain will fall by 58.8% and oilseeds – soybeans and rapeseeds – by 60.8% compared to the average export figure over the past five years," reads the press release, citing an agricultural markets expert at UCAB, Ihor Ostapchuk.