Photo from UNIAN
Now such land plots are either rented at a lower price, or are managed by state-owned enterprises through various schemes, Yablonovsky said.
Expert from Centre for Economic Strategy Dmytro Yablonovsky says the economic effect from the sale of half of state-owned agricultural land in Ukraine will be estimated at about US$12.4 billion.
"If we sold half of the state-owned land, we could get $12.4 billion. This is due to the sale of 500% of state-owned land and an increase in VAT through growth of consumption if some private owners also sold their [land] plots," he said at a press conference on December 4.
Read alsoLifting of land sale moratorium to accelerate Ukrainian economy growth – expert
According to the expert, now such land plots are either rented at a lower price, or are run by state-owned enterprises that use them through various schemes.
"Therefore, we need to think about privatization and deprive corrupt officials of yet another source of income," the expert said, adding that even after the sale of state-owned land, no one will cancel the regular payments that will be channeled from its use into the national budget.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the moratorium on the purchase and sale of agricultural land in Ukraine had been in effect since 2001. The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, extended it until 2019.
According to the land reform proposed by the government, only Ukrainian citizens could be eligible to purchase land after the moratorium expires. However, the maximum size of a plot per citizen shall not exceed 200 hectares.
At the same time, an ad hoc group under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy does not rule out the possibility of selling land plots to small farms – legal entities – subject to a number of restrictions.
The World Bank says Ukraine's economy will receive US$0.7 billion-$1.5 billion annually in case the moratorium on farmland sale is lifted.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in September 2018 expressed doubt that the Verkhovna Rada would open the land market in the near future, especially given the fact that the presidential and parliament election campaigns had virtually begun.