The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) put 10 distilleries up for an online auction on the Prozorro.Sale platform in November.

According to the post of Head of the State Property Fund Dmytro Sennychenko on Facebook on Monday, the initial sale prices for lots are from UAH 8 million to UAH 54 million.

"In October, in just half a month, we have got an excellent takeoff. Six objects of the state-owned enterprise Ukrspyrt have already found new owners at privatization auctions and brought more than UAH 268 million to the state budget. The price that is formed by the market and which sometimes swells two or three times, this is the main characteristic that now unites alcohol privatization," he wrote.

As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on December 11, 2019 signed a law on abolishing the state monopoly on alcohol production from July 1, 2020, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on December 3, 2019.

The debut auction for the privatization of the first object of the state-owned enterprise Ukrspyrt Nemyriv distillery (Vinnytsia region) was held on October 15. The plant was sold to LVN Limited LLC, shareholders of Nemiroff, for UAH 55.08 million, which is UAH 5 million higher than the starting price. The winning company was the only one to apply to participate in the auction.

On the whole, starting from October 15, six Ukrspyrt's plants have been successfully privatized at online auctions. Two auctions did not take place. As for distilleries, they will be put up for re-bidding with a reduction in the starting price.

The SPF expects to attract about UAH 2 billion from the privatization of distilleries of the state-owned enterprise Ukrspyrt and the concern Ukrspyrt.