Grain export quotas introduction poses economic risks - Bleyzer Foundation
2012-10-12 11:08:27
Introduction of grain export quotas in Ukraine may have a negative impact both on the economy as a whole and on the domestic agriculture.
This opinion was expressed by Director General of the International Bleyzer Foundation Oleg Ustenko in Kyiv on Thursday.
"In our view, the introduction of such quotas would be a rather risky step both from the viewpoint of stimulating economic growth and in terms of reorientation and providing an additional impetus to Ukrainian agriculture," Ustenko said.
According to the expert, agricultural production is an important source of Ukrainian exports - it makes 18.4% of all exports. In 2011, agricultural products were sold for $13 billion, which is almost 10% of Ukraine's GDP.
The expert believes that, in contrast to other groups of merchandise exports, agricultural production has an enormous potential in two ways: it is possible to increase the Ukrainian presence in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Russian Federation and the European Union, and Ukraine also has great opportunities to be employed in other regions.
"And it will provide an additional incentive for the development of the Ukrainian economy in the next year," Ustenko says.