Extension by the National Bank of Ukraine of the requirement on the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings by exporters for another six months is warranted, executive director of the Bleyzer Foundation, Oleg Ustenko said in his comments to UKRINFORM.

"The National Bank will be right if it extends the provision on the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings by exporters for another six months. This move is absolutely justified now. No problems related to the extension should arise," Ustenko says.

According to the expert, in six months, when deciding on a new extension of the rule on the mandatory sale of export earnings, it will be needed to analyze the financial account. "If the volume of foreign exchange reserves is sufficient to cover three months of imports, this would be a positive signal that the measure could be abandoned. Moreover, it is necessary to pay attention to the amount of currency transfers from 'guest workers' and the inflow of foreign direct investment, which also tells on the state of the financial account," Ustenko said.

He also stressed that the introduction of this provision was necessary to provide a channel for a constant supply of foreign currency to Ukraine in the guaranteed amounts. "Six months ago, before the election, devaluation expectations in this country were high enough; there were also concerns that exporters would hold the proceeds outside Ukraine, and this means that in the short term, the country could fall short of the required amount of foreign currency," Ustenko said.

The economist noted that the situation with the receipt of currency in the country has stabilized. In addition, people's demand for foreign currency has decreased, as evidenced by the NBU statistics. "In April, the population bought about 200 million dollars, which is a record low level in the recent economic history of Ukraine," the expert said.

On this basis, Ustenko believes that it makes no sense to extend the certification of private foreign exchange transactions, as public demand for foreign currency has virtually got leveled.

As reported, the National Bank obliged resident legal entities to sell 50% of foreign exchange proceeds received from the sale of goods for export over a period of six months from November 19. This decision was aimed, in particular, to stabilize the financial market, which at that time showed a record demand for currency among the population.

Ukrinform