OREANDA-NEWS. August 10, 2009. The Gov’t is taking measures to stabilize prices and counteract speculation on the national sugar market. The Economics Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn announced during a press conference dedicated to the price situation on sugar market.

“These tendencies observed on the sugar market don’t respond to the present state of things and the Government will spare no efforts to stabilize the situation, to root out speculative moods,” Bohdan Danylyshyn explained and added there existed no objective reason for soaring of sugar price.

According to him, as of August 1 present sugar reserves on the home market completely satisfied the needs of population amounting 735 thousand tons with average monthly consumption in 150-160 thousand tons and 25 thousand tons in retail trade. “There is enough sugar in the country and the Government together with respective bodies will maintain control over the situation,” the Minister underlined. 

Bohdan Danylyshyn informed for stabilization of the price situation the Gov’t was carrying out respective interventions from the Agrarian Fund and the State Material Reserve Committee owing to which the market would receive 50 thousand tons of sugar costing UAH 4-4.5 per kilogram, depending on the cost of delivery. At this, he added the Agrarian Fund had made interventions of sugar in the amount of around 16 thousand tons with concluding contracts for the total 34.5 thousand tons of sugar, in its turn the State Material Reserve Committee had sold 6 thousand tons of sugar and had an intention to sell 9 thousand tons more.

At this, the Economics Minister emphasized that main reason of growing sugar prices on consumer market is simple speculation. “Certain market operators after buying sugar at low prices purposefully stir up hysteria and panic with an aim to increase sugar price and sell it at higher prices,” he stressed.

Besides, Bohdan Danylyshyn emphasized that nowadays the Economics Ministry together with the State Inspection for Price Control, STA, MIA and Antimonopoly Committee are studying the situation on sugar market. “Within nearest time we will hear who is inflating prices, we will bring out into the open all speculators and the market will have the price joined to the present stores of sugar,” he explained. 

In his turn, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Ivan Demchak also confirmed ungrounded soaring of price for sugar. He informed that to support enterprises dealing with growing sugar beets almost UAH 230 million would be directed from the Stabilization Fund this year.

Furthermore, as he put it, owing to favourable weather 94% of sugar beet crops are in good condition. “We have a chance to gather 12 million tons of sugar beet and produce 1.5 million tons of sugar,” Ivan Demchak.