“The year 2021 can be a defining year for the agricultural sector of Ukraine.” The UAC Chairman Andrii Dykun emphasized this issue during the meeting of farmers of the central regions in the UAC office in Uman.

"There are times when a window of opportunity opens for certain events. In my opinion, it is opened for the agricultural sector of Ukraine right now. It is opened globally (because due to the coronavirus pandemic, each country cares about its food security) and in the middle of the country (because the past 2020 was almost the most productive year in terms of adopting a number of agricultural bills: land market, agricultural cooperation, VAT rate reduction on some types of agricultural products). The implementation of the norms of these laws, I am sure, will bear positive results this year," the UAC Chairman said.

Andriy Dykun also mentioned that in 2020 the agricultural sector set a new record, ensuring the receipt of foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine in 2019 at the level of 48% from the total amount.

"I have repeatedly said that the agricultural sector is the locomotive of our economy, as it provides 17% of the country's GDP and 40% of foreign exchange earnings. Last year we set a new record: the agricultural sector provided foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine at 48%. At the same time, the driving force of the agricultural sector is medium-sized farms. If you look at the statistics, more than half - 58% (of that 17% of GDP) are produced with enterprises from 1 thousand to 10 thousand hectares," Andrii Dykun said.

Agricultural producers from Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy and Vinnytsia regions attended the meeting.

The UAC Deputy Chairman Mykhailo Sokolov acquainted the audience with the work of the analytical center “Smart Country” established by the UAC and explained the provisions of the law on the VAT rate reduction on some types of agricultural products from 20% to 14%. The UAC Lawyer on land issues Victoria Kiprianova answered the questions about the agricultural enterprises’ peculiarities before the beginning of the land market opening: how to keep their land bank, how to avoid early land lease agreements termination, how to use the lessee's preemptive right to buy land.

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The Ukrainian Agri Council is a public association that has been operating since 2014 and unites more than 800 small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises with a total land bank of more than 3.5 million hectares. The main purpose of the union is to protect the farmers’ interests.

Every week, the UAC representatives hold meetings with farmers in different regions of the country. To join such a meeting, follow the announcements on the official website of the UAC or call: +38 (067) 472 12 44.

To join the UAC, fill out the form: https://cutt.ly/yyCZSJ1 or call: +38 (067) 472 12 44.