"Ukraine has 30% of the world"s black soil and can provide sustenance for one billion people. Compared to Soviet times, beef production has fallen by 12 times, and pork output has plunged by seven times. Despite good harvests over the past several years, the yield is 2-2.5 times less than in Europe. There is fantastical potential," MP Borys Kolesnikov said.

He said that Ukrainians today consume half the amount of meat of European Union citizens, and the country imports 500,000 tonnes of meat each year. "This is like Russia starting to import oil," he said.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy said that tourism is also an attractive sector in Ukraine. He said that Lviv over three years managed to increase the number of tourists to one million people, which exceeds the city"s population, and over the past year the growth was 40%.

The mayor said that domestic tourism has great prospects, as few Ukrainians travel around the country, as well as foreign tourism, as foreigners know little about Ukraine. He said that it is profitable for the state to support the development of the sector, as it has a large financial and educational significance and helps fight unemployment.

"The country should understand that there is a need for decentralization. Local authorities should get power, and central power should keep only the monitoring function for itself," he said.

Source: Interfax via KyivPost.com