Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU countries grew by 34.3% in January-July 2019 year-over-year, to $4.1 billion, former acting Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine Olha Trofimtseva has said. “The export of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU for the seven months of 2019 increased 34.3% (or $1.04 billion), to $4.1 billion compared to the same period in 2018,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The main products in the export structure to the EU are cereals – $1.8 billion, vegetable oils – $921.9 million, oilseeds – $385.4 million, bagasse and other food waste – $345.5 million, poultry – $117.3 million, fruits, nuts and zest – $78.6 million.
The share of the Netherlands in the trade between Ukraine and the EU countries was 18%, Spain’s – 13.5%, Poland’s – 13.4%, Germany’s – 11.1%, and Italy’s – 10.6%.
Trofimtseva said that as of September 2, 2019, Ukraine had fully used the EU tariff import quotas for honey, sugar, barley groats and flour, processed starch, preserved tomatoes, grape and apple juices, corn and wheat. The quota was used for butter by 48%, and for processed milk products – by 33.3%.
Export of agricultural products from Ukraine in January and February 2019 grew by 24.4%, to $3.5 billion, the press service of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has reported, referring to acting Minister Olha Trofimtseva.
“The share of agricultural and food products of total exports of Ukraine was 43.9%. The leaders among the exported products were corn (share of total agricultural exports is 33.6%), sunflower oil, safflower or cottonseed (20.13%), and wheat and wheat mixture with rye (11.84%),” Trofimtseva said.
The press service said that according to the regional structure of agrarian exports in the first two months of 2019, Asian countries (worth $ 1.38 billion) had the largest share, the EU had $1.25 billion, Africa $559 million and the CIS $217 million.
The top ten importers of Ukrainian agricultural products in January-February 2019 included India (9.6%), Egypt (9.1%), Turkey (7.8%), the Netherlands (7.4%), Spain (6, 7%), China (5.8%), Italy (3.8%), Poland (3.3%), Germany and Belarus (2.9% each).
Exports of agricultural products from Ukraine in January 2019 amounted to $1.7 billion, which is almost 22.5% more than in the same month in 2018, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported.
According to the report, grain crops traditionally remain the leaders of Ukrainian agricultural exports with a share of 44.6% in the total structure of agricultural exports, the share of vegetable oils is 19.8%, oilseeds some 9.7%.
“The EU countries rank first among our sales markets, to which we exported $668 million worth of products in January. Asian countries lost to our European neighbors with a little more than $641 million. African countries rank third. Ukrainian agricultural exports there stood at $292.2 million,” Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Olha Trofimtseva said.
According to her, the top five key countries importing Ukrainian agricultural products in January (by volume of exports in value terms) were Egypt with $153.6 million, the Netherlands with $149.9 million, India with $143.9 million, Spain with $135.8 million, and Turkey with $112.3 million.
Ukrainian agricultural exports to the European Union countries in January-October 2018 grew by 1.3% year-over-year, to $4.7 billion, according to a posting on the website of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine.
According to the report, over the period foreign trade flow with agricultural goods and food between Ukraine and the EU countries rose by 7.15, to $6.9 billion.
“The EU countries are extremely important partners for Ukraine in terms of trade and economic relations in the agro-industrial sector. The pace of bilateral trade in agricultural and food products confirms this. The EU’s share of the regional structure of Ukrainian agricultural export in January-October 2018 is 31.6%,” Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European Integration Olha Trofimtseva said.
According to her, the Netherlands ($865,500), Spain ($713,600), Italy ($583,700) and Poland ($535,300) became the largest importers of Ukrainian agricultural products among the EU countries in January-October.
“During this period, Ukrainian producers increased exports of a number of products to EU markets. First of all, these are rapeseed, meat and edible poultry byproducts, wheat, corn, dried leguminous vegetables, nuts, confectionery goods made from sugar, rapeseed or mustard oil, chocolate and other products,” Trofimtseva said.
The deputy minister said that imports of European goods showed an increase over the specified period and amounted to almost $2.2 billion. In January-October 2018, Ukraine imported from the EU countries tobacco and products from it, chocolate and cocoa beans, animal feeding products, meat and byproducts, alcoholic beverages, grain products and cereals and other products.
Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to European countries in January-August 2018 exceeded $3.6 billion, Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry has reported. “The top five key export items to the EU over the period include grain with a $1.2 billion volume, oil – $702.5 million, oilseeds – $581.4 million, – $312.8 million, poultry and byproducts – $169.8 million and other goods,” the ministry’s press service reported, citing Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European integration Olha Trofimtseva as saying.
She said that the top five countries with the largest share of trade in foreign goods flow between Ukraine and the EU includes the Netherlands with 15.2%, Poland with 14.3%, Italy with 12.6%, Spain with 12% and Germany with 11.5%.
Over the period imports of agrarian and food products from the EU to Ukraine rose by $336.2 million year-over-year, reaching $1.7 billion. “Most of all we imported products for feeding animals, tobacco and products made of it, chocolate and products made of cacao beans, meat and byproducts, oilseeds, corn, alcohol and other foods,” she said.
