In 2024, Ukraine reached the pre-war level of exports of $24.5 billion, accounting for 59% of total exports, the second historical record after 2021, when the country supplied $27.7 billion worth of agricultural products to foreign markets, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval said on Telegram.
The Minister clarified that in total, Ukraine exported 78.3 million tons of agricultural products in 2024. At the same time, sunflower oil accounted for the largest share (21%), with almost 6 million tons exported for $5.1 billion. Corn was in second place, accounting for 21% of agricultural exports with 29.6 million tons worth $5 billion, and wheat was in third place, with 15%, 20.6 million tons worth $3.7 billion.
Among the leaders, Koval named rapeseed – 7% (3.8 million tons for $1.8 billion), soybeans – 5% (3.4 million tons for $1.3 billion), cake and residues obtained during the extraction of vegetable fats and vegetable oils – 4% (4.7 million tons for $1 billion).
The share of meat and edible poultry products reached 4%. These products amounted to 447 thousand tons worth $958 million. Barley (3.3 million tons worth $557 million) and sugar (746 thousand tons worth $418 million) accounted for 2% each, the Minister of Agrarian Policy summarized.
The agro-industrial group Kernel, due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports by Russian warships, reduced the rate of export of agricultural products by 90% compared to the pre-war period, from 7.5 million tonnes per year to approximately 750,000 tonnes per year, the group said, citing its CEO Yevhen Osypov.
“Today, Kernel’s export performance has reached only 10% of pre-war results, despite the fact that we export more than 7.5 million tonnes of the products annually. We, like colleagues from other companies, are constantly working on alternative channels for the sale and delivery of products,” his words are quoted in a message from Kernel on the group’s Facebook page on Monday.
According to Osypov’s forecasts, the war unleashed by the Russian Federation could lead to a 40% reduction in sunflower oil exports. Taking into account its exports in the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY, September-August) at the level of 5.13 million tonnes, in the current MY 2021/2022, supplies to foreign markets may be reduced to 3.1 million tonsne.
“The war can become a humanitarian catastrophe for the whole world, but we are doing everything possible to ensure food security,” Kernel’s CEO stated.
As reported, before the Russian military invasion, Ukraine monthly exported up to 5 million tonnes of agricultural products through the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, however, due to the blockade of these ports by the aggressor country, Russia, Ukraine can transport no more than 500,000 tonnes of grain monthly, which leads to a monthly shortage of $1.5 billion in export earnings.
