Ukraine plans to simplify procedures for import of seeds
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade supported the changes initiated by the producer associations to the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Rights for Plant Varieties" and the Law of Ukraine "On Seeds and Planting Material". These changes should simplify the procedures for registration of seeds and improve the procedures for determining the varietal qualities of seeds.
The amendments are aimed to optimize and simplify all formal procedures and documents that applicants are required to submit during the variety registration procedure; aligning the terms with international conventions and existing EU regulations; simplification of the procedure of the final stage of registration of the varieties.
The proposed amendments to Law on Seeds will include:
- changes in the submission of application forms for research purposes and the receipt of results in electronic format;
- private certification bodies will be enabled to provide paid services to determine the varietal qualities of certified seeds.
Proposed changes to the Law on Protecting Rights for Plant Varieties:
- import to be allowed after all operations necessary for registration are completed but before renewal of the National Variety Register;
- setting clear timeframes for each examination stage;
- electronic documentary turnover and simplification of workflow;
- obligation to inform the applicant within clear timeframe about the results of the examinations and expertise.
The parliament has to vote for these changes to come into force.
In Ukraine the import of seeds is almost 34 times more than the export.
Source: Agropolit.com
