News
09.09.2013
EBRD: Agriculture could be Ukraine’s locomotive
Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Sevki Acuner believes that agriculture will be the engine of Ukraine’s development, if the sector focuses on the further stages in the processing instead of primary production.
He said this at the International Chamber of Commerce Ukraine forum "Modern Trends of the World Business Organization" in Kyiv on Friday.
"Agricultural products can be the engine of the country if you go further up the chain of processing and focus on consumer goods, packaging, transportation and sales at supermarkets," Acuner noted.
He emphasized that agriculture is a strong side of Ukraine. "We need to capitalize on our strengths," Acuner added.
According to him, the EBRD makes a significant contribution to the development of agriculture in Ukraine. Every year, the Bank provides a USD 4.5 billion investment in this area.
However, Acuner said that Ukraine should not be closed either for the eurozone market, or for the Russian marke. "The economy of Ukraine is opened both to the eurozone and Russia. Slowdown in one of these areas will have a negative impact on the economic profile of the country," the EBRD chief in Ukraine underscored.
