Page 46 - UKRRptJun22

8.1.2 Loans
Ukraine farmers have already borrowed more than UAH 24B in bank loans. Ukrainian farmers have attracted almost UAH 24.2B in loans for the sowing campaign, of which UAH 16.46B under the portfolio guarantee program. Currently, the banking system of Ukraine issues up to UAH 900M in loans per day, reported the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. "As of May 11, farmers received loans for the sowing campaign for UAH 24.17B. The main part is traditionally involved in the 80% portfolio guarantee program, which is UAH 16.46B” the statement reads. Moreover, Last week alone, banks issued UAH 4.4 B to 2,070 new agricultural borrowers, about UAH 900M per day, to support the owners of domestic agrarian enterprises.
Ukraine wants to expand its loan program for farmers. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy is initiating the expansion of affordable lending for farmers working in agricultural processing. Deputy Minister Taras Vysotsky stated that the financing of the sowing campaign within the framework of the program "Affordable Loans 5-7-9" will be completed on May 31 and summed up the results of its effectiveness. In total, over 10,000 farmers received funding of more than UAH 30B ($1B) in three months. According to him, the ministry wants to expand the list of those who can get loans under state guarantees, including food processing companies.
The Ministry of Economy recorded a record demand for 5-7-9% loans.
Since May, there has been a record number of requests from businesses for soft loans under the state program Affordable Loans 5-7-9%, which indicates the desire of entrepreneurs to resume business as soon as possible. Most of the enterprises that have borrowed operate in agriculture (51.8%), trade and production (22.6%), and industrial processing (14%) under the program. Geographically, the leaders in terms of loan agreements are Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, the Kyiv regions, and the city of Kyiv. Since the beginning of the program 42,476 loans totaling UAH 117.9B ($3.7B) have been
46 UKRAINE Country Report XXXX 2018 www.intellinews.com