Ukraine intends to expand its participation in the OECD Sugar Beet Seeds Schemes

The delegation from Ukraine is planning to participate in the next scheduled meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, that will take place in Paris from January, 31st, to February, 3rd. The issue of extension of participation of Ukraine in OECD Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed Moving in International Trade is on the agenda of the meeting working technical group.

In particular, Ukrainian application to join the OECD Schemes for sugar beet seeds will be put under review on February, 2nd. It is also expected, that Ukraine will provide a self-evaluation report to the 2017 Annual Meeting of OECD

In despite of the fact that the acreage of sugar beets have decreased, nowadays an interest of foreign investors in the Ukrainian sugar beet production is only increasing. Sugar beet is a unique high yielding and highly-profitable agricultural crop.

Such statement is confirmed by the positive dynamics of regularly increasing annual number of varieties/ hybrids of sugar beet, listed in the State Register of plant varieties suitable for dissemination in Ukraine. It should be mentioned, that in Ukraine there are already world leaders in breeding of sugar beet, who commercialize millions of seeds of this crop globally every year. They breed and/ or produce seeds on their own plants in Ukraine; their Ukrainian seeds are popular with customers and they are ready to start exporting sugar beet seeds to the foreign markets.

Realization of export potential of Ukraine, where leading breeders and producers of seeds work, in the field of seed production demands full implementation of OECD Varietal Seed Certification Schemes.