The structure of customs offices should be optimized, according to Deputy Head of the Office of the President for economic issues Oleksiy Honcharuk has said. “The customs structure should be precisely optimized. Exactly those customs officers who will work there should have normal working conditions,” he said at a press briefing on Tuesday, commenting on statements of the head of the State Customs Service, Maksym Nefyodov, on the intention to reduce the number of custom offices from 26 to five or six.
However, he said that Nefyodov proposed a model for reforming the authority.
“Yes, we see some possibilities for optimizing the number of customs offices. To what number, I think, Max (Nefyodov) himself will also specify these figures when he starts working,” Honcharuk said.
UkrAgroConsult in the current year expects a recovery in barley production, an increase in wheat production and a slight decrease in corn production.
“In 2019, the focus will probably change. We expect recovery in barley production, growth in the wheat harvest and, most likely, some decline in corn production. But the overall supply of grain from Ukraine will remain in a growing trend, Ukraine will remain a strong player in the global agricultural market,” founder and CEO of UkrAgroConsult Serhiy Feofilov said.
According to him, four seasons in a row Ukraine has been collecting record grain yields. After a slight decrease in harvest in 2017, the gross grain harvest showed a record high again.
“Of course, if to exclude weather disasters, there is every chance to further increase production. Technologies do not stand still and help reduce the risks of farmers,” he said.
The director general said that the record high harvest revealed weak points in Ukrainian logistics, which in the conditions of the record harvest could not cope with the efficient transportation of grain to elevators and ports. The second “problem area” was insufficient storage capacity, especially in the midst of harvesting a record harvest of corn and sunflower.
