On 2 March, SUP members had a meeting with Ihor Petrashko, Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine.
While delivering her welcome speech, SUP Executive Director Kateryna Glazkova thanked the Ministry’s team for taking into account the suggestions offered by business regarding the partial unemployment benefits for employees and improvement of the lending program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” (the maximum loan amount has been last increased up to EUR 400,000).
“SUP had lots of working meetings with the Ministry’s representatives when we all found ourselves under the lockdown and had to decide how to move forward and what support business would need to do so. Our union contributed actively to this work, and we are happy that our comments for the improvement of business support mechanisms have been heard. As a result, our members have made a good use of those programs”, said Kateryna Glazkova.
In his speech, the Minister announced the authority’s plans for further extension of the lending program. More specifically, in March-April, it is planned to approve the threshold loan amount of EUR 800,000, which will mean a 4-fold increase in the total pool of funds available under the program.
According to Mr Petrashko, the implemented programs already helped stabilize the economic situation at the year end.
“We did our best to hear out entrepreneurs as much as possible during the pandemic period. After the first quarter of 2020, we started thinking of ways to handle the rising unemployment rates, once businesses were closing down. We introduced the partial unemployment benefits, which have already supported 400,000 people.
This worked out well for stabilizing the GDP. In the fourth quarter of last year, the decline actually stopped. This means, we have entered the new year 2021 on a positive note with the vision of the 4.6% economic growth,” said the Minister.
Ihor Petrashko further revealed the Ministry’s plans to move towards the de-regulation (simplification of labour laws), optimization of the existing inspection systems for businesses (introduction of transparent procedures), and the ACAA extension (“industrial visa-free regime”).
The union’s members also emphasized the need to address the creation of registers, which is necessary for resolving the critical situation that developed in the animal feed market.
As noted by the Minister, thus far, the national register of feed additives has already been created, with three more registers to be introduced by the end of March: the register of production capacities, the catalogue of feed materials, and the register of feed properties. By the end of July, the Ministry plans to have this process completed.
Other issues raised by SUP members include, in particular, the need to give a mirror-image response to the sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation (introduce sanctions on the Russian import of refrigeration equipment and electric brushes to Ukraine), optimization of the use of cash registers, etc.
We would like to thank Economy Minister Ihor Petrashko and Deputy Economy Minister Iryna Novikova for the meaningful dialogue with the meeting participants and their openness to suggestions of the business community!
