Farmers, food producers, retailers initiate subsidies for needy
Kyiv, September 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A number of associations and unions of Ukraine consisting of farmers, foods producers and retail chains are initiating the introduction of state subsidies for low-income citizens through the issue of ration cards or food stamps for staple foods.
The state is to allocate UAH 2-3 billion to support low-income citizens, which account for a fifth of the country's population, under this initiative next year, President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation Leonid Kozachenko said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
A corresponding address to the Ukrainian president was signed by the heads of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, the Ukrainian Trade Association, the Agrarian Union, the Ukroliyaprom Association, the Ukrainian Grain Association, the Union of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Bakers' Association, and the Union of Dairy Enterprises.
The authors of the document stress that an increase in the prices of foods has been caused by objective factors - the pace of growth of the planet's population is higher than that of food production growth. In their opinion, attempts to curb prices with administrative leverage, as used by previous governments, caused producers and retail chains to sustain losses, and in the end, these governments' objectives were not achieved.