President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signed the order to stabilize
the situation at the food market, and ensure availability of first
priority goods to the public by preventing unreasoned growth of their
prices, presidential press office reported.
The Government, Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, and regional
executive authorities are to immediately inspect the cause for rapid
increase in prices of agricultural goods, particularly of buckwheat.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov was instructed to provide
intervention of the State Reserve Committee and Agrarian Fund of Ukraine
into the market by selling buckwheat from their stocks. The Government
is to prepare the infrastructure for accepting and storing this year’s
harvest of buckwheat with minimal losses.
Also, the officials are to immediately begin negotiations with
exporters of buckwheat in order to cover demand in Ukraine, and consider
introducing subsidies on crops of buckwheat and futures contracts for
the purchase of buckwheat by the Agrarian Fund from agricultural
producers.
The question of introducing export duties on buckwheat under WTO rules must be considered separately.
By the end of the year, the Government must ensure long-term
forecasts of the balance of production, consumption and exports and
imports of agricultural products in order to prevent imbalances in food
markets.
