UKRAINIAN AGRICULTURE MINISTER HOPES MORATORIUM ON SALE OF FARMLAND CANCELLED STARTING JANUARY 1, 2011

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysiazhniuk has expressed hope that a moratorium on sale and purchase of farmland would be cancelled from January 1,2011. "I'd be glad if free trade is introduced from January 1,2011. Everybody is waiting for the cancellation of the moratorium,starting from farmers and ending with investors," he said in an interview with the Kontrakty weekly published on May 31.

He said that laws on land cadastre and land market should be adopted,so that the moratorium could be cancelled. "We'll complete work on the draft laws this year,and they would be submitted to the parliament in autumn," he said.

He said that the change of farmland to non-agricultural land should be banned for at least ten years. He added that the state should create its own land bank of 4 million hectares and lease land for long periods of time. The minister supports restrictions on the size of owned farmland.

"Discussion on the maximum size of land plot for one company are being held. The realistic limit being discussed is 10,000 hectares. However, there are proposals for 50,000 and 100,000 hectares," he said. The state would look for a compromise with those companies,which control over 100,000-200,000 hectares, he said.

Source: U.S.-Ukraine Business Council with reference to Interfax