More than 20% of grain exports from Ukraine are carried out by risky enterprises – BEB

During the nine months of 2023, risky enterprises exported grain of “unknown origin” from Ukraine in the amount of UAH 133.9 billion, which is more than 20% of the total. The Bureau of Economic Security announced this on Thursday, November 16, citing the review of export transactions.

The BEB reported that this was a common procedure for exporting “black” grain and noted that companies were created specifically for the export of uncounted grain purchased for cash.

“That is, farmers grow grain and sell it for cash to companies that are usually registered as fictitious persons and do not engage in regular business activities. These companies do not submit documents to grain origin or declaring apparent producers in customs declarations,” the report said.

After the grain leaves Ukraine, it is resold many times, and it legally reaches the final consumer.

The BEB emphasized that such “schemes” deprive the fund’s budget. In fact, as a result of the “scheme”, foreign exchange earnings are not returned to Ukraine, the budget does not receive income, because the export companies are fictitious.

“Usually the last buyer of grain is a non-resident company, which transfers funds for the goods to another non-resident associated with the Ukrainian exporter,” law enforcement officials added.

“There is also a method where money is transferred to the settlement accounts of a non-resident, who then buys goods, for example, in China and imports them to Ukraine, to then sell the it for cash and sell them to other businesses as a tax credit,” said BEB.

Based on the results of the analysis, the BEB sent its proposals to the Ukrainian government to amend the regulations governing the export of agricultural products.

A “dry port” will appear in the village of Goronda in Transcarpathia, which will help export agricultural products. Because of this, it is possible to create more than 200 new jobs.

We remind you that the government of Ukraine is taking measures to solve the problem of “black” grains, and they are already producing the desired results. It is expected that there will be fewer requests from farmers who want to sell crops that are legal, but there is no one, thanks to the introduction of a list of verified agricultural exporters.