On Government’s agrarian bloc initiative, on July 12 a meeting on extending credits for agricultural production enterprises suffered form spring drought of this year was held chaired by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov and Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Slauta, according to the government’s press-office.
The representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, Ministry of Economy, Finance Ministry, Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Association of Ukrainian Banks, National Bank of Ukraine and leading state and commercial finance institutions – Oshchadbank, Ukrsotsbank, Raiffeisenbank, Pravex-bank, Ukreksimbank, Prominvestbank, such banks as “Finance & credit”, “Forum”, “Khreshchatyk”, “Financial initiative” participated in the meeting.
Speaking about unfavorable weather conditions for agriculture this year First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, in particular, noted, “To minimize risks it is necessary to create new, drought resistant wheat sorts, introduce progressive technologies for crop cultivation, update flooding system. The following year budget will significantly increase funds for supporting agricultural complex”.
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Slauta focused attention of the participants’ on insurance against risks in agrarian sector. “The agricultural enterprises will have no access next year to budget funds if they do not insure their harvest. We must comply with the world standards,” he stressed.
The meeting also concerned extending credits for agrarians and compensating lax credits for enterprises suffered form drought.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, for the present almost 7000 agricultural production enterprises have got credits totaling to 6,2 billion UAH among them lax credits – 3,7 billion UAH, among which intermediate – 1,2 billion UAH, short-term – 2,5 billion UAH. According to live data of the regions 3,9 billion UAH of credit resources need extension.
“Work at extended credits has been started. There is a list of enterprises of suffered regions which have the right for credits compensation and extension of tax payments.
There are 10 793. Among 282 agricultural production enterprises which have incurred drought losses and have already turned to the banks for extending credits, agreements concluded with 34 of them to the amount of about 225 million UAH. Legal basis has been practically completed for today both concerning credits extension and compensation for losses,” Minister of Agrarian Policy Yuriy Melnyk reported.
In his turn, deputy head of the National Bank of Ukraine Anatoliy Shapovalov noted that banking system of Ukraine has free financial resources for today and “we have opportunities to extend credits for agricultural producers”.
The participants of the meeting have agreed to support agricultural producers in the regions suffered from drought and agreed to cooperate in solving the following issues: credits extension attracted by agricultural enterprises of the current year and in 2005-2006 in the regions suffered from natural disaster, before 1 October 2008 to compensate short-term and intermediate credits to the amount envisaged by credit agreements but not exceeding double discount rate of the NBU since 1 May 2007 and amounts of losses taking into consideration their partial refund, working out mechanism preserving class of debtors for enterprise-debtors of agricultural complex suffered from drought and turned to the banks for credits extension.
According to the outcomes of the meeting the First Vice Prime Minister gave a relevant commission.
