On May 28, 2020 at the government’s area agrarians are going to make a protest campaign against quotas introduction for nitrogen fertilizers import to Ukraine. Agricultural producers demand from Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to deny Ministry’s for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine decision, because it will monopolize the chemical fertilizers market and prices will be higher.

Agrarians are against quotas introduction for fertilizers import, because it will lead to agrarians’ incomes losses and beneficiate oligarch-monopolist Dmytro Firtash (his company group “OstChem” has the biggest nitrogen fertilizer factories in Ukraine). Moreover, Ministry’s motivation is incomprehensible, because last year Antimonopoly committee adjudged that the company group “OstChem” was a monopolist at the nitrogen fertilizers market and it misused their monopoly position. Because of that prices for fertilizers were higher.

Import from partner countries (EU countries, Arabian Gulf countries, North Africa countries, also from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Byelorussia, Georgia, China, USA) stops increasing of prices. Internal market price is 20-30% higher.

After legalization of such quotas agrarians will be obliged to buy fertilizers from Dmytro Firtash factories and pay any price this organization can fix. Chemical fertilizers will be expensive and agrarian’s enterprises will be harmed a lot. Fertilizers’ part in cost value of crop production is about 30%, it can make food products more expensive. Also export markets can be lost because of impossibility to be a good challenger even with Russian producers. The logical question appears: whose interests are protected by the Ministry – agrarian producers’ or oligarchs’?

Agrarians claim: the Government must support them instead of companies of Dmytro Firtash. A few years of low world prices and drought destroyed a lot of farms. Two of the chairmen made a suicide. Forcing agrarians to subsidize oligarchs are unfair and amoral.

Organizers of the protest campaign are: UAC, Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association, Agricultural Union of Ukraine, Ukrainian National Farmers’ Union, Agri-Food Union

The beginning of the protest campaign is at 11.00 near the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Also, protest campaign participants will go to the President’s Office to tell Volodymyr Zelenskiy about common filing from agricultural associations.

We are going to make press-briefing near the President’s Office at 13.00