Azarov: Customs clearance of containers should not exceed 15-20 minutes

The customs clearance of one container at Ukrainian seaports should not take more than 15-20 minutes, Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov has demanded.

According to the information and public relations department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the premier expressed such a requirement during his working trip to Odesa region.

"We have set the goal at the first stage to reduce the time of all customs procedures to one or two hours for each container, and in the future the process should not exceed 15-20 minutes," Azarov said.

The prime minister said that earlier the customs clearance of one container at Odesa maritime merchant port took two days, but now the procedure requires a couple of hours.

Azarov gave the order to study the European experience in the work of ports so that customs clearance at ports would not take more than 20 minutes.