The Ministry of Economy, in collaboration with the National Bank of Ukraine, plans to improve the currency control system to support enterprises amid a growing trade deficit. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Economy, Oleksiy Sobolev, during the opening of tax consulting offices.
This is reported by Finway
Trade Deficit and the Need for Reforms
According to Sobolev, the government has already proposed to extend the currency settlement terms to 270 days for certain categories of machinery products. This issue is currently under consultation with the National Bank. He emphasized that the situation in the currency market is deteriorating: the volume of currency inflows is decreasing, while the external trade deficit is increasing every month.
“Unfortunately, this year the trade deficit is increasing every month,” said Sobolev, noting that the situation is now worse than it was at the beginning of the year: currency inflows are less than what Ukraine is exporting.
Challenges for Macroeconomic Stability
Sobolev pointed out that the extensive destruction of infrastructure due to attacks from Russia forces Ukraine to import significant volumes of equipment. This, in turn, creates additional pressure on the balance of payments and increases the risk of currency outflow abroad. He stressed the need to develop an effective mechanism to prevent currency losses and threats to the macroeconomic stability of the country. The Ministry, together with the National Bank, is already working on this issue.
Furthermore, Sobolev emphasized that ensuring access to modern equipment is extremely important for business recovery, and sometimes the delivery times exceed 80 days. That is why the Ministry of Economy is seeking an optimal balance between the necessary currency inflows and the ability of enterprises to invest in production modernization.