You're reading: Ukraine to ban imports of agricultural machinery

(Interfax) A month after placing severe restrictions on the import of foreign-made used cars, Ukraine is to ban the import of farm machinery in an effort to protect domestic producers.

Speaking at a press conference in Kirovohrad on Wednesday, Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko said the ban would not apply to contracts already concluded with foreign farm equipment manufacturers.

Pustovoitenko said Hr 4 million ($1.97 million) would be channeled from a government innovation fund to domestic producers of farm machinery. The money will be available as of April 1, the prime minister said.

If implemented, the ban will come as a blow to U.S. firms John Deere & Co. and Case, which have already done millions of dollars worth of business in Ukraine. Germany's Claas has also concluded farm machinery contracts in Ukraine. John Deere & Co. in 1996 sold Ukraine more than 1,000 combines in a $187 million deal widely criticized here because the harvesters went to large collective farms that have opposed much-needed agricultural reforms. Parliament deputies also complained that the deal put domestic tractor and combine makers out of work.