Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's land market may bring about US$376 million in revenue in one quarter of 2020 (October-December) alone.
Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov says 750,000 hectares (ha) of land has been stolen from the state since the moratorium on farmland purchase and sale in Ukraine came into effect.
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"Over 18 years of the moratorium and debates on which model of land turnover to choose, 750,000 ha has been stolen from the state. There was 1.5 million ha of state-owned land, now part of it has been misappropriated," he said at parliamentary hearings on December 4.
According to the minister, plots of land owned by state-run enterprises and the National Agrarian Academy of Sciences are "used by seasoned traders for nothing."
Ukraine's land market may bring about UAH 9 billion (US$376 million) in revenue in one quarter of 2020 (October-December) alone, according to the ministry.
"Normal operation of the land market in just three months of next year will bring about UAH 9 billion in additional funds to GDP growth, which will account for about 0.23% of a 'mirror' [the similar] growth [in economy]. In 2021, such growth is expected at additional UAH 30 billion [US$1.3 billion], plus 0.83 % of GDP growth," Mylovanov added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, a bill designed to launch the farmland market in Ukraine from October 1, 2020, passed its first reading in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on November 13.
The World Bank says Ukraine's economy will receive between US$0.7 billion and US$1.5 billion annually in case the moratorium on farmland sale is lifted.