Ukrspyrt plans to sell alcohol on the domestic market only / Photo from trademaster.ua
The shipments may resume after local demand for medical alcohol is fully satisfied.
Ukrspyrt, a state-run distillery, has halted exports of alcohols from Ukraine.
"We are seeing an increased demand for medical alcohol amid the coronavirus pandemic not only outside but also inside the country," the company's press service said in a statement. "Therefore, we've decided to suspend exports of alcohols."
"We need to fully provide the Ukrainian market [with ethyl alcohol] first. We consider it unacceptable if medical institutions had asked us to sell alcohol and we had nothing in stock," the statement quotes acting Director of Ukrspyrt Serhiy Bleskun as saying.
Read alsoUkrspyrt launches more distilleries to increase medical alcohol output amid COVID-19
The exports may resume after local demand for medical alcohol is fully satisfied, he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrspyrt launched four additional facilities to meet increased demand for ethyl alcohol amid the spread of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus in the country.
Ukrspyrt had earlier announced its readiness to provide medical facilities in Ukraine with ethyl alcohol.
UNIAN memo. State-owned Ukrspyrt, which was set up on the basis of a consortium with the same name in 2010, holds a monopoly on alcohol production in Ukraine.
The government has already launched its privatization, which is expected to be over by July 1, 2021. As many as 41 distillation facilities belonging to the enterprise are to be put up for sale.