Sobolev: Economy Ministry and NBU developing mechanisms to improve currency control
The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, together with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), is working on developing a more detailed currency control mechanism to support business, said head of the ministry Oleksiy Sobolev.
"The government has decided to recommend increasing the terms to 270 days (foreign exchange settlements for individual machine building products). We will talk to the National Bank. You can see the statistics for yourself: unfortunately, this year the trade deficit is increasing every month," Sobolev said, answering questions from businesses about increasing the terms of foreign exchange earnings during an event on the occasion of the opening of the State Tax Service tax consultation offices in Kyiv on Monday.
He explained that the situation is now worse than it was at the beginning of the year: there is less foreign exchange inflow than Ukraine is withdrawing.
The minister noted that the destruction of infrastructure as a result of Russian attacks is forcing Ukraine to import additional equipment, and this is creating additional pressure on the balance sheet.
"It seems to us that it is necessary to develop a more detailed mechanism that will not generally move everything forward in order to avoid the risks of currency outflow and new gaps that could threaten macro-financial stability. We are currently working with the NBU to make this possible," Sobolev emphasized.
He added that access to equipment, the supply of which sometimes takes more than 80 days, is critical for business recovery, so it is necessary to find a balance between foreign exchange inflows and the ability of enterprises to invest in upgrading production.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers, by order dated June 21, 2024, recommended that the NBU increase the settlement period in the field of mechanical engineering from 180 to 270 days, but the central bank rejected the recommendations and requested additional analytical justifications from the Ministry of Economy.
In October last year, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko reported that the government was trying to convince the central bank of the need for such a step.
In early June 2025, Deputy Governor of the National Bank Yuriy Heletiy reported that during the work of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on May 20-27, the parties agreed that the NBU was still waiting for additional arguments from the Cabinet of Ministers, after which the National Bank would consider the proposal again.