Ukraine`s Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Kutovyi has resigned, according to his Facebook post.
”The minister`s decision to resign is an absolutely natural process for any European country and usual practice in the world,” Kutovyi wrote on Wednesday evening.
In his words, he is leaving the post, thanking members of the parliamentary coalition and the Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction, the president, the prime minister, the Udar Party group, and Udar leader Vitaliy Klitschko.
The minister said that his fifth year of the political career is nearing completion and in future he plans to work in the sphere of investment, inviting investors to Ukraine.
In 2007, Kutovyi was named as the best financial director of Ukraine, and he was among Ukraine`s top ten financiers in 2008.
According to the Agrarian Ministry`s press service, while Minister Kutovyi was in office, the Cabinet set the agricultural subsidy size in the budget at 1% of agricultural GDP, which made is possible to pay almost UAH 322 million in subsidies to farmers this May. The total amount for this year is UAH 5.5 billion.
His team developed a bill to end monopoly in ethyl alcohol production, which suggests gradual liberalization of the ethyl alcohol market in Ukraine. The document was approved by the Cabinet and tabled in parliament.
Also, EU quotas for Ukrainian farm produce exports were extended; and Ukraine and China signed protocols that green-light Ukrainian beef exports to that country.
What is more, foreign trade in farm produce from Ukraine hit UAH 19.6 billion, which is 26.1% of Ukraine`s total foreign trade. Measures to support organic farming and production of niche crops were legislatively approved.
During his tenure, Ukraine gathered a record high yield of grain, boasting 66 million tonnes of grain. Record exports were as high as 40.2 million tonnes of grain.
Kutovyi`s resignation is to be authorized by Ukraine`s parliament.
