Business supports a number of simplifications in the agricultural sector

13/ 04/ 2022

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine plans to consider draft law №7264, aimed at supporting the uninterrupted production and supply of agricultural products for the period of martial law. The document provides for a number of simplifications and delays in legislative changes to reduce the administrative burden on agricultural businesses during martial law. Despite the difficult conditions, agricultural companies continue to operate and export despite the war. Therefore, the agrarian business welcomes the simplification of phytosanitary requirements for the export and movement of plant products through the territory of Ukraine, provided by this draft law. This document provides for the e-issuance of phytosanitary certificates, expansion of the range of specialists authorized to take samples and conduct phytosanitary examinations during martial law, and introduction of a simplified procedure for the authorization of private laboratories. Also, the draft law will eliminate the need to obtain the conclusion of the state sanitary-epidemiological examination for state registration of pesticides and agrochemicals for the period of martial law and 90 days after its completion. Meanwhile, the state guarantees the safety of drugs by approving hygienic standards and regulations for the safe use of pesticides and agrochemicals, which are developed and tested for two years by authorized scientific institutions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. The European Business Association fully supports this initiative as an extremely important step to ensure the food security of the state. Cancellation of the conclusion will speed up the process of state registration by 3-6 months and will allow registering about 200 products this spring. A timely and sufficient supply of CPPs and fertilizers is extremely important during the spring-summer fieldwork, given the actual impossibility of their importation by sea. Draft law №7264 also provides for the postponement of the entry into force of the updated version of the Law of Ukraine On Veterinary Medicine. According to the EBA experts, this is a positive and balanced decision, as the law was to become effective in March 2023, but as of early 2022, only two respective regulations were adopted out of 85. Meanwhile, it would be appropriate to supplement the draft law with a provision that would extend the validity of the registration of veterinary drugs during the war. As the requirement to submit paper documents has complicated this process, there is a risk that some animal products may disappear from the market now. There are no Ukrainian analogs products, so stopping their registration may lead to an increase in the share of smuggling and negatively affect animal health and the quality of livestock products. The document also provides an opportunity for Ukrainian manufacturers of organic products, which comply with the EU production standards, to receive state support and switch to Ukrainian standards without an additional transition period, if it takes place within one certification body. The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy has already approved this draft law, so we hope that it will find the support of the majority during the vote in Parliament.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine plans to consider draft law №7264, aimed at supporting the uninterrupted production and supply of agricultural products for the period of martial law.

The document provides for a number of simplifications and delays in legislative changes to reduce the administrative burden on agricultural businesses during martial law.

Despite the difficult conditions, agricultural companies continue to operate and export despite the war. Therefore, the agrarian business welcomes the simplification of phytosanitary requirements for the export and movement of plant products through the territory of Ukraine, provided by this draft law. This document provides for the e-issuance of phytosanitary certificates, expansion of the range of specialists authorized to take samples and conduct phytosanitary examinations during martial law, and introduction of a simplified procedure for the authorization of private laboratories.

Also, the draft law will eliminate the need to obtain the conclusion of the state sanitary-epidemiological examination for state registration of pesticides and agrochemicals for the period of martial law and 90 days after its completion. Meanwhile, the state guarantees the safety of drugs by approving hygienic standards and regulations for the safe use of pesticides and agrochemicals, which are developed and tested for two years by authorized scientific institutions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The European Business Association fully supports this initiative as an extremely important step to ensure the food security of the state. Cancellation of the conclusion will speed up the process of state registration by 3-6 months and will allow registering about 200 products this spring. A timely and sufficient supply of CPPs and fertilizers is extremely important during the spring-summer fieldwork, given the actual impossibility of their importation by sea.

Draft law №7264 also provides for the postponement of the entry into force of the updated version of the Law of Ukraine “On Veterinary Medicine”. According to the EBA experts, this is a positive and balanced decision, as the law was to become effective in March 2023, but as of early 2022, only two respective regulations were adopted out of 85.

Meanwhile, it would be appropriate to supplement the draft law with a provision that would extend the validity of the registration of veterinary drugs during the war. As the requirement to submit paper documents has complicated this process, there is a risk that some animal products may disappear from the market now. There are no Ukrainian analogs products, so stopping their registration may lead to an increase in the share of smuggling and negatively affect animal health and the quality of livestock products.

The document also provides an opportunity for Ukrainian manufacturers of organic products, which comply with the EU production standards, to receive state support and switch to Ukrainian standards without an additional transition period, if it takes place within one certification body.

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy has already approved this draft law, so we hope that it will find the support of the majority during the vote in Parliament.