The Ukrainian Agri & Food Innovation Forum’16 took place under the patronage of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on June 8. The Forum was organized within the framework of the XXVIII international agricultural exhibition AGRO-2016 at the Expocenter of Ukraine in Kiev.
The organizer of the Exhibition is the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine; the organizer of the Forum is A7 CONFERENCES. Official partners of the Forum included the international law firm Dentons, the ArtStroiService construction company, Kievstar and the Orange Park residential complex. The event brought together more than 350 participants from 17 countries.
The agricultural sector remains the most attractive investment opportunity that is due to preserving the export potential, fertile land and relatively cheap labor force. Investors take a keen interest in both Ukrainian crop farming and livestock breeding. However, the prospects of the national agro-industry in the global market are not limited to wheat or sunflower oil. Recently, Ukraine has been finding new niches of food commodities. Ukrainian producers are entering food markets in China and South Asia. Therefore, there are good grounds for believing that this year Ukraine will be on the strategic investors’ radar.
Vladislava Rutitskaya, deputy agriculture minister for European integration, pointed out that last year was marked by a considerable increase in the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to China. "We have succeeded in reaching 1.3 billion grivnas worth of agricultural exports,” she said. “Ukrainian milk sellers were also afforded the opportunity to export their products to China. However, the problem of planning trade routes remains pressing. In addition to the transit potential, a New Silk Road, as the strategy of cooperation with China, gives an opportunity to establish joint enterprises and/or industrial parks in order to attract Chinese investments in Ukraine. In fact, our Chinese partners are interested in investing in joint agricultural projects. Today New Silk Road means mutually beneficial routes and economic ties, as well as the creation of economic space based on mutually advantageous cooperation."
According to participants in the Forum, the agricultural sector will become a driving force if it develops along all lines, including a steady rise in the rate of agricultural production and processing, as well as the introduction of innovations. The efficiency of production will depend on the land market and taxation reforms, oil prices and development of alternative energy, while factors of growth of the domestic market, changes of consumption standards in this country and on foreign markets, state control over the system of export incentives are supposed to influence development of the processing system.
Besides, the Forum participants stressed that prospective investors would bring money to Ukraine as soon as a moratorium on the purchase and sale of agricultural land is lifted. Another factor in streamlining the influx of foreign investments into the Ukrainian market is the stability of tax and currency laws and title guarantees. Also, investors are waiting for currency restrictions to be lifted. They should have confidence that they will operate comfortably, safely and profitably in Ukraine.
More information on the Forum’s website at http://a7conf.com/agri
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