Ukraine will save the world from a food crisis, but is not yet able to feed itself

In Ukraine, they plan to liquidate private producers of dairy products, whose products currently form the bulk of the market. This conclusion can be reached based on the results of the speeches of officials and experts during the round table, which discussed the national project on reforming the agro-industrial complex.

The reform, which started at the beginning of this year in the Kharkiv region, will take at least ten years. According to the authors of the project, innovations in the agro-industrial complex will have a positive effect on the entire economy of the country. Israel was chosen as the benchmark, where such a reform has already taken place, said Yuri Gusev, head of the Department of Investment and National Projects of Gosinvestproekt..

“Today the situation in Ukraine is the same as in Israel several years ago. The consumption of «milk» is only half of the norm. At the same time, the bulk of dairy products are produced by small producers, each of which, figuratively speaking, has two cows in a barn. As a result, the quality of milk leaves much to be desired, «said Oran Kariv, an expert from the Israeli dairy holding Dodburg Holdings LTD.

In addition, according to official estimates, only 55 percent of dairy products and a third of the meat sold in Ukraine are produced by Ukrainian farmers. Experts argue that this trend poses a threat to the food security of the state..

The authorities, in turn, assure that by the end of 2013 milk consumption by each citizen of Ukraine will amount to 217.3 kg per year..

Optimistic sentiment on the issue of agriculture reigns in the Supreme Soviet.

“For the foreseeable future, the world will face the problem of food and water shortages. It will be beneficial for Ukraine. Only the agricultural sector is able to bring the country to a new level. There are no other objective opportunities that would allow Ukraine to enter into a negotiation process with economic leaders, ”MP Viktor Bondar believes..

According to Bondar, over time, Ukraine may outstrip the United States of America in terms of grain exports.

At the same time, investors continue to look with apprehension at Ukraine — they do not have confidence in the safety of their investments in the development of the local agro-industrial complex..

“We are worried about the possibility of changes in investment conditions in a few years, because Ukrainian legislation can change at any second,” explained Vadim Bodaev, President of the investment company SigmaBleyzer.