Agribusiness challenges, as well as opportunities for companies in the agricultural sector in 2012 were the main topics for discussion at the «Doing Agribusiness in Ukraine: Prospects for 2012» conference, which was held December 8, 2011 on the initiative of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB).

UCAB's dedicated legal partner, Vasil Kisil & Partners Law Firm acted as a main legal partner of the event.

2011 became a kind of litmus test for the agro industrial complex of Ukraine. On the one hand, virtually all sectors, except for dairy, demonstrated a positive trend for an increase in production in physical terms. On the other hand, there was a significant reduction in the profitability of production of agricultural products (such as grain, corn, soybeans, sugar beets, etc.)

According to Mykolay Prysyazhnyuk, the Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, who opened the conference, the weather and natural conditions as objective risks influencing the agribusiness in Ukraine need to be balanced out with effective management, as well as by establishing methods to increase production and improve land conditions.

It is important to maintain a balance in the structure of the agricultural sector - to provide an opportunity for all forms of agricultural enterprises to develop competitively and equally, having developed its own model, adapted to national circumstances. The Minister stressed the need to bring together community organizations, public authorities, business representatives and academics to develop the agricultural sector. According to Mr. Prysyazhnyuk, the government agrees that major commodity businesses should not be hindered by an excessive regulatory intervention, and that this approach will be applied in the future.

One of the major problems in agribusiness identified by conference participants almost unanimously was the unavailability of sources of funding. Representatives of the banking sector, which is engaged in lending to agribusiness, agreed that the abrupt change in the legal environment and the unexpected intervention of the authorities that have been observed in recent years, as well as the existing tax policy had a negative impact on companies' performance in the agricultural sector.

The presentation on Land Reform and Agricultural Land Market delivered by VKP's associate Natalia Dotsenko-Belous was, in the opinion of the audience, one of the most interesting. Mrs. Dotsenko-Belous considered in detail the novelties of land reform for each activity in the agricultural sector and gave specific recommendations as to what companies ought to do prior to the entry into force of the law of Ukraine "On Land" (January 1, 2012).

Considering the possible risks associated with the entry into force of the registration and land reform, Natalia said: «Vasil Kisil & Partners Law Firm has developed an exclusive methodology for risk management, and these methods have been applied to some of our clients. We see great potential in the creation of agricultural holdings using the institutions of collective investment, which can be a powerful tool for the protection of land assets and tax planning."

Vasil Kisil & Partners pays great attention to the evolution of legislature that regulates agricultural sector, and continuously design effective approaches to doing business for agribusiness companies. If you have any questions, send them, please to pr@vkp.kiev.ua – we would be more than happy to continue the dialogue.

To download Natalia's presentation, please, click here.

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For more details please contact Iryna Ryslyaeva,

PR Manager

Tel.: +380 44 581 7777

E-mail: pr@vkp.kiev.ua

About the Firm

Established in 1992, Vasil Kisil & Partners is a Ukrainian law firm that delivers integrated legal advice in banking & finance, mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, antitrust, competition and trade, dispute resolution, tax law, energy and natural resources law, intellectual property law, labor and employment law, real estate and construction law, as well as PPP, concessions and infrastructure law.

VKP serves international and domestic companies, as well as private individuals, dealing with banking and financial industry sectors, agriculture, chemical, construction, energy, hi-tech, general commodities, insurance, IT, media, metallurgy, pharmaceutical, real estate, shipbuilding, telecommunications, trading, transport, and other industries and economy sectors.

The firm`s clients include such world-known companies as Alpcot Agro, Africa-Israel Group, Astellas Pharma, BASF, Bayer Consumer, BNP Paribas, British American Tobacco, Central European Media Enterprises, Coca Cola, Credit Agricole Group, Danone, Dell Inc., Du Pont, Energy Standard Group, Eurosport, Google, IKB Deutsche Industriebank , LG Electronics, Leroy Merlin Ukraine, Lukoil, Metso Automation Oy, Moody’s, Mott MacDonald Limited, NCH Capital, Novacke chemicke zavody, Opel, Philips, Pioneer, Red Bull, Russian Standard Bank, St. Sophia Homes, SEB AB, SEB Group, Swedbank AB, Seven Hills, Shell, Standard Charted Bank, Tchibo, UniCredit Group, Vanco International / Vanco Energy, Volkswagen, VympelCom.