REUTERS
The notion of the need to launch a land market in Ukraine will not be a prerequisite for the allocation of another loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), AgroPortal reported citing its source close to the recent negotiations held in the U.S.
"President Petro Poroshenko asked to withdraw the issue of launching the land market from the agenda, and [IMF Managing Director] Christine Lagarde agreed," AgroPortal quotes its source as saying.
According to the source, the paragraph on the need to launch the land market will be removed from the Ukraine-IMF memorandum.
"Today, an agreement was reached between Poroshenko and Lagarde to exclude land reform from the list of issues that affect the allocation of tranches," the source added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, since 2001, a moratorium has been enforced in Ukraine on farmland purchase and sale. In October 2016, the Verkhovna Rada extended it until the end of 2017.
The IMF memo indicates that Ukraine plans to adopt by the end of May 2017 a bill regulating farmland turnover, and starting in 2018 (after the moratorium’s term expires) to begin trading in farmland.
Read alsoIMF appoints new resident representative in UkraineThe opinions of the expert community and the public were divided on the issue regarding the abolition of the farmland sale ban. Some believe that its continuation creates a shadow land market, while others argue that the lifting of the moratorium will lead to the deprivation of farmers of their land as it will be purchased in mass by foreign companies.
Read alsoPoroshenko, Lagarde review status of reform implementation in UkraineThe Ministry of Agrarian Policy predicts that Ukraine will see some tangible effect from the launch of the land market no sooner than in 5-7 years.