Ukraine extends ban on farmland sale until 2019

KIEV, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament said Thursday it has extended the moratorium on the sale of the farmland in the country for another year -- through Jan. 1, 2019.

According to the parliament statement, the bill to extend the ban was supported by 236 votes in favor, surpassing the 226 minimum requirement.

In 2001, Ukraine adopted a land code reviving a ban on farmland trade, which was first imposed in 1992. Since 2001, the Ukrainian authorities have prohibited the land owners from selling their plots.

This year, a number of international organizations, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have recommended Ukraine lift the ban to attract more funds to the state budget.

Inside Ukraine, the liberalization of the land market is a deeply controversial issue. The supporters of freeing land market claim that the continuation of the moratorium will limit the rights of about 6.9 million Ukraine's plot owners to dispose their property.

Meanwhile, critics claim that small landowners may lose their plots once the moratorium is lifted as big agricultural firms may use shadow schemes to appropriate their farmland. Enditem