OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2011. German farmers and the Federal ministry of food, agriculture and protection of consumers are interested in cooperation with Ukraine. The independent consultant Ulrih Merts and the Project Manager of the "German-Ukrainian Agrarian Dialogue" Heinz Strubenhoff declared desire of cooperation during today’s meeting with deputy head of the State inspection of agriculture of Ukraine Oleksander Grygorovych.

"We are interested in cooperation with the Ukrainian side. There are several reasons. First, Ukraine is a neighbor state. That is reason enough for fruitful cooperation and joint projects. The second reason - Ukraine is an extremely powerful agricultural producer and a major exporter of agricultural products both for Germany and for the European Union, in particular, cereals, canola, sunflower, barley"- said the independent consultant Ulrich Merz.

According to experts, the German farmers today look at Ukraine as a country to invest their investment.

"The Ukrainian agricultural sector today significantly developing and German representatives of agricultural businesses see tremendous potential in the Ukrainian agricultural sector, especially in the field of processing, such as oil and grain on starch, etc." - said the expert.

In addition, Ulrich Merz noted that Germany, like Ukraine, is a member of the WTO, and now negotiations on signing an agreement with Ukraine on free trade zone are conducted. "This will be a new stage in our cooperation and make it even more productive for both our countries", - Ulrich Merz said.

In turn, the Project Manager of the "German-Ukrainian Agrarian Dialogue" Strubenhoff Heinz stressed the importance of the land reform, which is now being implemented by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

"We are convinced that reform is needed. This is a very important step for your country. I do not know the European countries that have not already done it. The land market - it's not as bad as people here think. The land market - is a powerful framework for agricultural development. This market - important, because agriculture requires large investment and land market can provide them", - stressed the Head of the project.