According to the results of 2016, for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, the export of agricultural products exceeded the metallurgy supplies. In 2017, the tendency grows: in January-February, the share of agriculture industry in the structure of total export was 42.8%. The Government presents the agrarian trend of economy as a serious achievement: Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska even boasted that “Ukraine has virtually started to feed the EU.”
When you try to understand the situation, the pathos of similar statements will seem ridiculous and inappropriate. First, the ‘growth’ of the share of agriculture industry in the structure of export often turns into the fall in absolute terms. This means that the collapse in other industries appeared to be even more noticeable, and that is why the share of agriculture industry has increased. Second, being proud of the ‘progress’ in agrarian sector under the constant increase in prices of food products and forcing out of small farm business by agricultural holdings is not normal, Oleksandr Feldman is convinced.
To turn Ukraine into the agrarian and raw-material-producing appendage is an old dream of our ‘European partners.’ Nearly 100 years ago, during the times of Skoropadskyi’s Hetmanate, Ukraine was already forced to feed the armies of the countries of Quadruple Alliance. Later, there was a peace treaty between the Central Council and Germany and Austria-Hungary, which stipulated that in exchange for the assistance, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi was demanded to supply 60 million poods of bread, 3 million poods of live weight of cattle, 400 million eggs, as well as lard, butter, sugar, etc.
What Europe asks Ukraine now? To remove moratorium on forest export, to open land market, to carry out the deindustrialization of economy – does this ring any bells?
The thrust course on agrarian and raw-material-producing economy is not a mutually beneficial offer for the partners; it is an obstacle for the development of our state. Roughly speaking, understanding the real level of corruption, our political elite is bought for loans demanding to agree on some ‘Morgenthau Plan’ for Ukraine.
However, they have to present the strategy aimed at capturing of all vital resources from Ukraine beautifully in order to control the normal protest reaction of the citizens. That is why our mass media presents the agrarian sector as the most promising direction of foreign trade, while the industrial one is presented as a ‘thing of the totalitarian past.’
The model of ‘agrarian superpower,’ which was first formulated by the former ambassador of the USA Geoffrey Pyatt, perfectly matches with the ‘farmers’ mentality.’ Dressed with the ‘patriotic’ rhetoric, it neutralizes the ‘inferiority complex’ and is elevated to the rank of, maybe not a national idea, but at least a state economic strategy.
However, this strategy is a dead end. Our finished product is only 2% of the total agrarian export. On demand of the ‘partners,’ Ukraine cancels VAT relief for private agricultural producers, opening its market for large multinational corporations. At the same time, due to the deindustrialization, unemployment rate, shadow economy, crime rates increase, while the citizens massively leave the country.
Ukraine needs the balanced development, and our economy must not be focused on some single industry. Free trade agreements are not a panacea, as they are often beneficial only for our partners, not for the domestic manufacturers. As for the dreams about the status of an ‘agrarian superpower,’ it is the most ridiculous thing that can be done in the 21st century. Ukraine deserves better!
