Agricultural associations are asking the EBRD and the IFC to pay attention to lobbying their business interests by large oilseed processors.

The Public Union "Ukrainian National Agrarian Forum ", on behalf of the national agrarian associations, sent an open letter to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine and the International Finance Corporation for lobbying business interests using the political influence of individual Ukrainian companies.

The letter, in particular, states that the amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the end of December last year, which abolish the budget refund of VAT on the export of industrial crops, namely soybeans from 01.09.2018 and rape from 01.01.2021 in the Tax Code of Ukraine, indicate the rough lobbyism of the business interests of oilseed processors. Thus, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee, which is specialized in tax matters, is MP Vitaly Homutynnik, who owns about 6% of the world's largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, Kernel.

An additional confirmation of the targeted lobbying of interests of individual processing companies is the fact that the rules on the abolition of VAT refunds were not submitted to wide discussion with business and the public and no consultation with the agricultural sector was carried out on the feasibility of such measures to stimulate domestic processing. The initiative arose without additional measures to stimulate the internal processing of these products.

Such actions create a significant conflict of interest and contradict the principles of international financial institutions that promote fair competition, transparency and democracy, as well as the rejection of corruption.

Associations ask the EBRD and the IFC to take this information into account when deciding on the provision of financing and other forms of cooperation with oilseed processors.