MYKOLAIV, NOVEBER 5th, 2010, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE — The experts of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, have officially declared that for the companies shaping the grain market policy, there is a number of questions and problems now, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

The agency has been informed about it today, 5 November, at the press service of Nibulon LTD.

According to their information, the EBRD experts say it is of great interest for Ukraine as, thanks to the company’s position at the market, the country has approached the world’s leading level in grain export over the recent years, significantly increasing its impact on world grain supplies.

In this context, 28 October, 2010, a round table with participation of the EBRD and the key grain market participants, including Ukrainian, such as Nibulon (General Director Oleksiy Vadaturskyy and Deputy General Director Andriy Vadaturskyy) and Volodymyr Klymenko, president of Ukrainian Grain Association, and many other leading partners and participants in the grain market from around the world, was held in London. The subject of the meeting was the current situation and prospects of grain market in different countries, including the issues of Ukrainian export of agricultural production, the issue of openness in the grain market. The format of the event, held at the EBRD headquarters, provided a very intense work in a bilateral mode.

The President of the EBRD Thomas Mirow and Charles Riemenschneider, Director of FAO's Investment Centre started the roundtable discussion. The participants heard a presentation of Erik Berglöf, Chief Economist and Special Adviser to the President at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, on “Prospects for Economic Development in the Region”, that took place after the welcoming address.

The next session was Political Dialogue of the EBRD – from the Grain Composition to the Consumer, involving Pieter Bride, Deputy Director of agribusiness department of the EBRD.

Afterward the was a press conference with the participation of international media in order to summarize the results.

During the meeting, bankers welcomed Ukraine’s significant progress developing its own agro-industrial sector. In particular, Nibulon’s investment program was marked. Dzhyls Mettetal said: “Today there are some companies that already invest in transportation infrastructure of production. For example, the Ukrainian company Nibulon. It is now developing river transportation of grain on the Dnieper and the Southern Buh rivers. This is a very important component of investment. The second component is investing in cultivation of agricultural land and storage of the commodities. It includes upgrading of equipment for grain storage, development and increase of elevator capacities etc. It is necessary to deliver good quality grain”.

Nevertheless, the management of the EBRD is confident: Ukrainian companies are able to export more agricultural commodities than today, while Ukraine has a huge untapped potential for the production of grain (this is especially important during the growth of world population and growth of demand for food).

The EBRD President appealed to Ukrainian authorities with call to help companies to get the VAT in time and develop the infrastructure for transporting of agricultural products. In turn, the Bank promised to increase loans for the development of agrarian sector of Ukraine.

Thus a number of key requests was announced, provided that their fulfillment by governments of the countries would greatly strengthen the situation in the grain market. Especially management of the Bank stressed on the fulfillment of conditionsby the Government of Ukraine.

1) Private investors need confidence that the government will refrain from unregulated responses, to make decisions about the development of the grain sector. In particular, it will not introduce informal restrictions that violating international conditions and rules have negative consequences. “We talk about the necessity of a transparent policy, predictable policy as to the market. For example, Nibulon that is now actively investing into transportation infrastructure, can not know what will happen tomorrow with its courts or how authority will behave itself in the regulation of this sector. Most private operators face such problems”, said Charles Riemenschneider.

In his turn, Oleksiy Vadaturskyy said: “Often we cannot talk about our problems neither to the government, nor to non-governmental organizations. We are doing this not just for ourselves, because there are problems around the agricultural sector in Ukraine. Domestic farmers, investors, producers of agricultural products — all market participants are consolidated that quotas for export of corn and other crops should not be introduced in Ukraine, you can not enter export restrictions without establishing clear reasonable deadlines in order not to disrupt international contracts and thus not to aggravate the image of Ukraine.

2) Governments should form a strategy for short and medium-term development of their crops sectors and have to reduce their own impact on markets.

3) Increasing of the trust between the public and private sectors by means of improving of coordination and transparency. “We have to focus on the fact that in Ukraine, which is one of the largest suppliers of grain, cooperation between all branches of government and private operators has to be established. They have to cooperate more closely. We are interested in this and are ready to facilitate such cooperation” stressed Dzhyls Mettetal.

4) Ensuring of property right, its guarantee, and the development of legislation in the field. Great hope of the market participant relies on the EBRD, which is quite significant and justifiable structure in the world: “I am pleased that we are heard and understood. The EBRD is very solid and respected organization that is able to raise the issue of security of market participants from various interventions in conversational mode. Our company during 19 years of its history has faced with many obstacles, problems, but we have never suffered a defeat and we are always optimistic about the future of the company and the country on the whole — said Oleksiy Vadaturskyy.