The total area of residential buildings registered at the start of new construction in Ukraine in the second quarter of 2026 increased by 6.1% compared to the same period in 2025—to 1,650,600 square meters, according to data from the State Statistics Service.
The bulk of this volume was accounted for by apartment buildings. Their total area reached 1,600,500 square meters, which is 6.2% higher than the figure for the second quarter of last year.
According to seasonally adjusted data, the area of new apartment building construction totaled 1,510,800 square meters, an increase of 5.1%.
The number of apartments registered in new apartment buildings grew even faster—by 7.9%, to 18,000.
In single-family homes, approximately 9,100 apartments were registered, which is 3.8% more than a year earlier.
Thus, the second quarter showed an improvement in activity in the new housing market following a weaker start to the year.
However, statistics on the start of construction do not indicate that the specified volume of housing has actually been completed and put into operation. The indicator reflects projects for which construction work has officially begun.
Starting in June 2026, the State Statistics Service expanded the publication of seasonally adjusted indicators on construction starts in accordance with European statistical practices.
Source: State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
UKRAINE CONSTRUCTION HOUSING REAL ESTATE STATE STATISTICS SERVICE
In August 2026, Ukrainian exporters increased exports of fresh or chilled beef nearly 25-fold compared to August 2025—to 474 metric tons, while exports of frozen beef rose by 34.2%, to 1,820 metric tons, according to the Milk Producers Association, citing preliminary data from the State Customs Service.
Export revenue from shipments of fresh or chilled beef in August increased 37-fold year-over-year—to $3.95 million—and rose by 44% compared to July. In volume terms, exports increased by 38% compared to the previous month.
In January–August 2026, Ukraine exported 3.04 thousand metric tons of fresh or chilled beef worth $24.36 million. Compared to the same period in 2025, export volumes increased 25-fold, and revenue rose nearly 34-fold.
Exports of frozen beef in August totaled 1.82 thousand metric tons, which is 8% more than in July and 34.2% more than in August 2025. Export revenue from frozen beef rose by 7% compared to July and by 32% compared to August of last year, reaching $8.16 million.
Over the first eight months, Ukraine exported 12,750 metric tons of frozen beef (+1%) worth $57.56 million (+12%).
Exports of live cattle in August totaled approximately 1.32 thousand metric tons, which is 1% more than in July and 31% more than in August 2025. At the same time, revenue from cattle exports fell by 11% compared to July but rose by 30% compared to August 2025, reaching $3.62 million.
In January–August, Ukraine exported 13,470 metric tons of live cattle (+5.9%) worth $32.31 million (+14%).
As for imports, Ukraine did not import any cattle in August. Imports of chilled beef totaled 9 metric tons, which is 40% less than in July 2026 and 40% less than in August 2025. Imports of frozen beef totaled 84 metric tons, down 32% from July but up 38% from August of last year.
In the first eight months of 2026, imports of cattle fell to 93 metric tons (-82%), and imports of frozen beef fell to 754 metric tons (-25%), while imports of chilled beef rose to 99 metric tons (+4%).
The trade balance for these commodity lines in August 2026 was positive, amounting to $14.95 million.
The association also notes that the global beef market is entering a period of declining supply and restructuring of trade flows. According to Rabobank’s estimates, global beef production in 2026 could decline by nearly 2%.
According to Experts.news, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts sunflower oil exports from Ukraine in the 2026/27 marketing year at 5 million metric tons, which is nearly 24% higher than the previous season’s figure of 4.036 million metric tons.
According to the USDA’s September report, *Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade*, sunflower oil production in Ukraine is expected to reach 5.418 million metric tons, up from 4.515 million metric tons in the 2025/26 marketing year—an increase of approximately 20%.
At the same time, domestic consumption of sunflower oil is projected to remain relatively stable—470,000 metric tons compared to 455,000 metric tons in the previous season. The USDA estimates ending stocks at 213,000 metric tons, compared to 265,000 metric tons. Thus, most of the increase in production is likely to be directed toward export markets.
Ukraine will remain one of the world’s two largest exporters of sunflower oil. The USDA forecasts exports from Russia at 5.1 million metric tons, Ukraine at 5 million metric tons, Argentina at 2.05 million metric tons, Turkey at 1.1 million metric tons, and the EU at 850,000 metric tons.
The USDA estimates total global sunflower oil exports at 15.968 million metric tons, compared to 13.51 million metric tons in the previous season.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade, September 11, 2026.
In January–August of this year, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced exports of iron ore raw materials (IORM) by 27.2% in volume terms compared to the same period last year—down to 15,774,950 metric tons from 21,679,221 metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 1,865,697 thousand metric tons of iron ore were exported in August, 1,875,428 thousand metric tons in July, 2,021,299 thousand metric tons in June, in May—2,239,167 thousand metric tons of raw materials, in April—2,163,837 thousand metric tons, in March—2,300,467 thousand metric tons, in February – 1,254,516 thousand metric tons, in January – 2,054,539 thousand metric tons.
Over the first eight months of 2026, foreign exchange earnings from mineral ore exports decreased by 26.1% to $1,206,589 million.
In addition, Ukraine imported 235 metric tons of raw materials worth $68,000 in January–August 2026, whereas in January–August 2025, it imported 86,000 metric tons worth $58,000.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s mining companies reduced ore exports in physical terms by 8% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to 30,995,363 metric tons from 33,699,722 metric tons, and foreign exchange earnings decreased by 16.6%—to $2,337,765 million from $2,803,223 million. Exports were primarily destined for China (44.98% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (17.15%), and Poland (16.09%).
In addition, in 2025, Ukraine imported $95,000 worth of raw materials totaling 130 metric tons from the Netherlands (46.32%), Italy (36.84%), and Norway (13.68%), whereas in the previous year it imported 2,042 thousand metric tons worth $414 thousand.
Potato production in Ukraine in 2026 is expected to reach about 12.5 million metric tons, which will be sufficient to meet domestic food needs, according to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, citing Minister Taras Vysotsky.
“Potato production this year is expected to total about 12.5 million metric tons. The available volume is more than enough for the domestic market. The population consumes a maximum of 2–2.5 million metric tons per year. The rest of the harvest is traditionally used as seed potatoes and animal feed,” Vysotsky noted.
According to Vysotsky, potatoes are grown as a cash crop in Ukraine by about 400 specialized enterprises on a total area of approximately 60,000 hectares. A significant portion of the harvest is traditionally grown by households for their own consumption.
According to the State Statistics Service, the average selling price of potatoes currently stands at about 14 UAH per kilogram. Over the past week, it has fallen by 5%, and over the past month—by 15%; in some places, purchase prices have dropped to 12 UAH per kilogram.
Final figures on potato production will be available after the harvest campaign is complete, the ministry noted.
On the Ukrainian fruit and vegetable market, prices for a number of key vegetables continued to rise last week, while apples and pears began to fall in price, according to EastFruit’s review of trading platforms for the 37th week of 2026, published on September 14.
According to analysts, bulb onions became more expensive in Ukraine, while a reduction in the supply of table beets also led to higher prices. Tomatoes and cucumbers continued to rise in price. At the same time, prices for Chinese cabbage and cauliflower, zucchini and eggplants declined, while broccoli became more expensive. In the greens segment, prices for dill and parsley increased, while green onions became cheaper, EastFruit reports.
In the fruit and berry segment in Ukraine, apples and pears began to fall in price. At the same time, the cost of blueberries and garden strawberries rose noticeably, while raspberries became more expensive. Plums became cheaper, while prices for peaches and nectarines went up. Watermelons continued to become more expensive, and the price range for melons and grapes widened. Among imported fruits, lemon prices declined, EastFruit notes.
Tomatoes became the leader on the EastFruit trading platform by the number of sale listings. Market participants also increased the supply of bulb onions and white cabbage. At the same time, the number of sellers of potatoes, carrots and table beets declined. Pumpkins and eggplants once again entered the weekly top list of the most actively offered vegetables, with the increase in their sales provided, in particular, by participants from Ukraine, according to EastFruit’s review.
Among fruits, apples were sold most actively, although the number of listings for them decreased compared with the previous week. Participants from Ukraine increased the supply of pears. At the same time, the number of sellers of watermelons, plums and nectarines decreased, while the supply of melons increased, EastFruit reports.
Potatoes were in the greatest demand among buyers on the trading platform. Other vegetables from the so-called borscht set were also actively purchased.
In total, sellers from eight countries offered fruit and vegetable products on the EastFruit Trade Platform last week. Ukraine retained first place in terms of the number of listings posted, followed by Uzbekistan, Turkey, China and Iran. At the same time, the number of offers from Ukraine decreased over the week, while those from Uzbekistan, Turkey and China increased.
