Ukrainian Defence Ministry adopts new rules for food procurement, effective April 2024

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence will be procuring food products under new rules from 1 April 2024, based on a catalogue of 409 specified food items for professionally prepared menus, taking into account average prices and with separate tenders for delivery.

Source: Public Relations and Media Relations Department of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine

Details: On 20 December, Deputy Minister of Economy Nadiia Bihun chaired the end-of-year meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Identifying New Approaches to Food Procurement by the Ministry of Defence Using an Electronic Procurement System, where the group approved new approaches to such procurement.

From the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, the Ministry of Defence will conduct food procurement under new rules, and the Interdepartmental Working Group has developed guidelines for this. 

Bihun says the recommendations consider requirements for security, transparency, and competition. Several ideas have already been implemented as transitional measures, resulting in reduction in the cost of a ration pack.

Quote from Bihun: "Next month, we plan to submit a draft decision to the government to introduce another new procurement system – a dynamic one which will be useful, among other things, for the procurement of food products for military personnel."

Details: Arsen Zhumadilov, the Director General of the State Logistics Operator, shared that the Ministry of Defence plans to implement the following key approaches in its procurement of food products starting from 1 April 2024:

• Food products will be procured based on a catalogue of 409 items, but the goods in it will be aggregated into more than 25 categories at the tender documentation preparation stage (e.g., "meat products"). This is intended to create broad opportunities for Ukrainian producers to participate in procurement procedures.
• When determining the expected cost, the buyer will rely on data regarding average prices from various sources, including the State Statistics Service.
• Procurement and logistics will be separated. The winning manufacturer in the tender will supply the products to distribution centres. Delivery services from these centres to end consumers will be procured separately by the state.
• A dynamic procurement system will be utilised. It will involve the qualification of participants prior to the start of the tendering process, allowing interested parties to undergo qualification during a qualification period, and ensuring the security of certain data about the bidders.
• Human-focused approach: standardised menus will be developed by professional technologists, including those currently serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces. The menus will consider both the nutritional needs of the military for different types of rations and the specific requirements for quality nutrition under combat conditions.

Quote from Zhumadilov: "The strategic goals we aim to achieve through implementing new approaches are the continuous fulfilment of the needs of the Armed Forces, trust from society, markets, the state, and our international partners. 

Ultimately, we are striving for institutional stability. We want our proposed approaches, transparency, and functionality to be independent of variable factors, including the agency's leadership."

For reference: Representatives from the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defence, the Logistics Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada (the parliament), the Cabinet of Ministers (the government) Secretariat, the State Audit Service, the State Bureau of Investigation, the State Statistics Service, and the State Defence Procurement Agency (State Logistics Operator) participated in the meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group.

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