Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, supports imposition of duties on grain exports instead of the present quota regime for grains export trading, but grain traders do not see any significant improvement for the market in the innovation, according to www.agrimarket.info.
Yaunkovich said that he will sign the law, accepted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the first reading on April 22, which provides imposition of 9% customs duty on wheat exports, 14% – on export trading of barley and 12% – for maize, and allows canceling the present grain quotas.
The President of Ukraine is convinced that export duties for grains will become more transparent mechanism of the state regulation of grain trading as opposed to the quota regime, which were imposed in October 2010, and nontransparent distribution of the quotas received sharp criticism from the international community and even led to several lawsuits.
The President also told that he will not sign the recently accepted law providing selling of grain quotas at auction.
Representatives of Ukrainian grain traders are sure that the new method will interfere the normal market activity.
Morgan Williams, President of the American-Ukrainian Business Council Morgan Williams, is convinced that grain export duties will force grain traders to reduce purchasing prices for grains and, consequently, farmers will lose from establishment of the export duties only.
He also added that this law, like any other government program, limits the free functioning of the market, have a negative impact at the grain market.
