Seed Association of Ukraine with business community appealed to the Government to ensure seed certification and unblock seed distribution, import and export

Seed Association of Ukraine and other industry and business associations have sent an open letter to Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine, that highlights the need to ensure consistency of seed certification, from which depends the course of spring sowing campaign.

Well-timed certification of seeds and planting materials in Ukraine has been put into risk by the liquidation of State Agricultural Inspection by the end of 2016. Inspection is reportedly only to process filed applications starting from the 5th of December. Whereas State Enterprise “State Center for Certification and Expertise of Agricultural Products”, which Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is going to entitle to perform these duties in future, plans to start its work on certification from the 1st of February, 2017. In other words, there is a two months gap in the process, which is unacceptable considering that it is the high time for the process of certification of seed that is being produced from this year’s harvest and imported for sowing in spring.

Please, find attached the full text of the letter (in Ukrainian)