Kyiv, July 28, 2015. The plant quarantine state regulations reform will save the industry around $1 billion due to deregulation and procedure simplification. Volodymyr Lapa, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food made this announcement during press briefing at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. “The phytosanitary control is one of the most corrupted spheres in the agro-industrial complex. We clearly understood what challenges we faced in this area. First of all, we are talking about the mandatory quarantine certificates issuing while they cannot be obtained at the place of shipment. Therefore carriers have to show they have the certificates without these certificates in hand, thus engaging in corrupt schemes at the place of shipment,” said Lapa.
On July 16, 2015 the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) adopted changes to the law, On Plant Quarantine, regarding the state regulation reforms in the field of plant quarantine and compliance of plant sanitation measures in accordance with international standards under obligation №2655 . The document is pending the President’s signature. Lapa expressed his hope that the proposed changes will be signed into law as soon as possible.
Lapa noted that the law is a logical step, which would complete phyto-sanitary reform. As of today, the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree №42, a law on deregulation will be enforced, which provides significant liberalization for the industry. In particular, voluntarily obtaining phyto-sanitary certificates for grain and oilseeds transport, setting 24-hour time limits for issuing quarantine certificates from the time of loading and submitting a request to receive it. This will help avoid wasteful expenses. “In fact, the Law №2655 protects those innovations that are already in place at the decree №42, thus making phyto-sanitary control reform irreversible,” said Lapa.
Lapa also underlined that the Law №2655 would not only simplify the quarantine certificate issuance procedures, but also decrease justifications for mandatory receipt of certificates, which would demonstrate the government’s flexibility in its relations with businesses. “The plant quarantine system simplification and its compliance with international standards is one of the most effective ways to provide a competitive advantage of Ukrainian producers of grain,” added Taras Kachka, Head of the Ukraine Reforms Communications Taskforce.