The Ministry of Agrarian Policy, together with the Cabinet of Ministers, is starting a real policy of import substitution in the food sector and is working on creating a road map for the reorientation of public procurement. About this stated Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Vitaliy Koval.
According to him, a significant share of products in state procurement is currently imported. For example, significant volumes of fish for government institutions come from abroad.
The minister believes that government purchases should include Ukrainian fish.
Koval emphasized that last year the state spent about 40 billion hryvnias on importing fish, in particular hake and pangasius.
“Our goal is to change the government procurement policy in favor of Ukrainian fish. For example, in the diet of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, hake can be replaced with carp and white carp. We already have confirmation from the chief nutritionist of the Ministry of Health that these types of fish are not inferior to imported fish in terms of energy value“, said the minister.
In his opinion, such a policy will contribute to the improvement of the balance of payments, stimulate the demand for fish grown in Ukraine, and contribute to the development of the industry.
Koval also emphasized the importance of supporting domestic products, adding that the national cashback program “Buy Ukrainian” is already active in Ukraine.
We will remind that starting in 2025, Ukraine plans to expand purchases of fresh farm products for the Armed Forces, including seasonal vegetables and fruits, such as zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and apples.
