Statements on possible rise in food price made to restore special VAT regime for agricultural producers – expert

Economist Borys Kushniruk expressed this opinion in his commentary to UKRINFORM.

"The rise in prices is being discussed in the context of the special VAT regime for agricultural producers and this is a kind of "horror story" to ensure its restoration. There are no objective reasons for the rise in prices for food products," the economist said.

In support of his opinion, Kushniruk cited the following factors.

"The price of food consists of production cost and consumers’ demand. Now we have a situation with reduced cost of production through cheaper fertilizers and diesel fuel. At the same time, we see the reduced demand because of the absence of growth in real income. And, we observe the reduction in food prices generally in the world. Therefore, there is no reason to talk about a possible increase in food prices," the expert concluded.

We remind that yesterday the President of Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine Ivan Tomic at the press conference held in Kyiv said that this year food prices in Ukraine would increase by 20% - 50%.

However, two weeks before Tomic predicted that food prices in Ukraine would remain at the same level. He said that in the context of the Russian embargo impact on the food market in Ukraine.

We also remind that, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the lowest index of world food prices in the last 7 years has been recorded.