On 23 April 2024, Ukraine’s Parliament adopted the law № 10427-1 “On amendments to some laws of Ukraine regarding the distribution of cotton varieties in Ukraine.”

The significant level of overregulation of permitting processes and certification of cotton varieties made their import and cultivation in Ukraine extremely difficult.

At the same time, the lack of support at the state level, insufficient implementation of cultivation technologies, and the lack of a proper genetic level of cotton varieties of domestic selection caused a number of problems related to the production of textile products, as well as products for critical infrastructure enterprises, including nitrocellulose for explosives.

The industry needed a radical deregulation and simplification of cotton circulation in order to meet the needs of domestic industry, primarily for the period of martial law, the explanatory note states.

The draft law stipulates that during the period of martial law, state registration and import of cotton varieties, including genetically modified ones, will take place under a simplified procedure. Previously, the registration of non-modified cotton took two to three years, and the registration of GMO cotton was prohibited altogether.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated that Ukraine has a strategic need to grow cotton as a raw material for import substitution, as well as for processing and meeting domestic needs. To this end, it is proposed that a cotton cluster in the Odesa region be created and developed.

Cotton is necessary for the production of nitrocellulose, which is used in artillery shells. 

European defense contractors warn that dependence on Chinese cotton used in gunpowder for ammunition threatens their ability to expand production amid efforts to support the overburdened Ukrainian army. Currently, China accounts for almost half of the world’s cotton cellulose trade. The largest importers of the material are Germany, Sweden, and Belgium.

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