January 21, 2011

Ukrainian traders sees grain export ban by next month

Ukraine's grain traders are concerned on the possibility that grain exports can be blocked starting next month, an official said.

Begining February 1, 2011, the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine #1254 about signing and registration of Foreign Economic contracts will come into force, but there are no orders of the decree realisation, stated Boris Berenstein, the General Director of the Association of "Union of Exchanges of Ukraine".

There two more dates, stated in the Decree, – January 15 and January 20. By January 15, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food should confirm the order of signing and registration of Foreign Economic contracts at the State exchange.

January 15 is already passed. But the authorities still did not deal with it. By January 20 they should develop the mechanism of providing the State Customs Service with electronic copies of the certificates of registration of Foreign Economic contracts for commodities exports, verified by the electronic digital signs.

No one was doing it, and no one was developing it. B. Berestein stated that he talked to the Customs Service – they were not provided with any documents, and they heard about new rules from him at first.

According to him, the government step is the first stage for grain export monopolisation to the advantage of the government grain trader, and also should provide work for the Agrarian exchange and guarantee incomes.

From February 1, 2011, the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine about signing and registration of Foreign Economic contracts will come into force.

In particular, according to the document, the services for signing and registration of Foreign Economic contracts for agricultural commodities (products) exports are provided by the Agrarian exchange or other commodities exchanges, which are certified in the stated order regarding to the standards of selling or supplying of exchange commodities, and to which the Agrarian exchange entitled to participate in the exchange trade.