In January 2026, Ukraine doubled its imports of nickel and nickel products compared to the same period last year, to $2.466 million (in December, it was $2.419 million).
Exports of nickel and nickel products amounted to $4,000 (in December — $175,000), while in January 2025 they amounted to $33,000.
In addition, in 2025 Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 2.7% compared to 2024 — to $26.011 million.
Exports of nickel and nickel products amounted to $1.420 million, compared to $602,000 for the 12 months of 2024.
In addition, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and nickel products by 73.7% in 2024 compared to 2023, to $26.730 million.
Exports of nickel and nickel products amounted to $602,000, compared to $532,000 in 2023.
At the same time, in 2023, it reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 74.2% compared to 2022, to $15.391 million.
Exports of nickel and nickel products amounted to $532,000, compared to $1.268 million in 2022.
Nickel is used in the production of stainless steel and for nickel plating. Nickel is also used in the production of batteries, in powder metallurgy, and in chemical reagents.
In January 2026, Ukraine reduced imports of zinc and zinc products by 26.3% to $1.986 million (in December — $4.392 million).
Zinc exports last month reached $81,000 (in December — $68,000), while in January 2025 they were $137,000.
In 2025, imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 9.6% to $52.982 million.
Zinc exports last year reached $1.234 million, while in 2024 they amounted to $563,000.
In 2024, Ukraine increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 27.5% to $58.610 million.
Zinc exports in 2024 amounted to $563,000, while in 2023 they amounted to $130,000.
In 2023, the country increased imports of zinc and zinc products to $45.966 million (+18.8%).
Zinc exports in 2023 amounted to $130 thousand, compared to $1.331 million in 2022.
Pure zinc metal is used to recover precious metals, protect steel from corrosion, and for other purposes.
In January this year, Ukrainian mining companies reduced exports of iron ore raw materials (IORM) in physical terms by 34.4% compared to the same period last year, from 3 million 132,403 thousand tons to 2 million 54,539 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, 2 million 220.646 thousand tons of iron ore raw materials were exported in December.
In the first month of the year, foreign exchange earnings from iron ore raw materials exports decreased by 35.1% to $160.246 million.
Exports of raw materials were mainly to China (35.09% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (17.56%), and Poland (16.89%).
In addition, in January 2026, Ukraine imported 180 tons of mineral resources worth $26 thousand from Poland (76.92%) and Italy (23.08%), while in January 2025, it did not import these products.
As reported, in 2025, Ukrainian mining companies reduced their exports of mineral resources in physical terms by 8% compared to the previous year, to 30 million 995.363 thousand tons from 33 million 699.722 thousand tons, and foreign exchange earnings decreased by 16.6% to $2 billion 337.765 million from $2 billion 803.223 million. Exports were mainly to China (44.98% of shipments in monetary terms), Slovakia (17.15%), and Poland (16.09%).
In addition, in 2025, Ukraine imported $95 thousand worth of raw materials in the amount of 130 tons from the Netherlands (46.32%), Italy (36.84%), and Norway (13.68%), while in the previous year it imported 2,042 tons worth $414 thousand.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its exports of raw materials by 89.8% compared to 2023, to 33 million 699.722 thousand tons, and foreign exchange earnings grew by 58.7%, to $2 billion 803.223 million UAH. In 2024, Ukraine imported mineral resources worth $414 thousand in a total volume of 2,042 thousand tons, while in 2023, 250 tons of these raw materials were imported worth $135 thousand. In 2023, exports of iron ore raw materials decreased by 26% in physical terms compared to 2022, to 17 million 753.165 thousand tons. Foreign exchange earnings amounted to $1 billion 766.906 million (a decrease of 39.3%). A total of 250 tons of iron ore raw materials were imported for $135,000.
Imports of goods to Ukraine in January 2026 amounted to $6.7 billion in monetary terms, while in January 2025 this figure was 22% lower at $5.5 billion, in January 2024 – $5.1 billion, and in January 2023 – $4.8 billion, according to data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCS).
According to data published on Tuesday on the SSU’s Telegram channel, in monetary terms, exports of goods remained at the 2025 level and amounted to $3.2 billion, while in 2024 this figure reached $3.4 billion, and in 2023 – $3.1 billion.
“At the same time, taxable imports amounted to $4.4 billion, which is 66% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in January 2026 was $0.5/kg,” the report said.
The SSU noted that China imported the most goods to Ukraine, worth $1.9 billion, followed by Turkey, worth $703 million, and Poland, worth $623 million.
In turn, the most goods were exported to Poland, worth $358 million, Turkey, worth $276 million, and Italy, worth $232 million.
Of the total volume of goods imported into Ukraine in January 2026, 69% of the categories were machinery, equipment, and transport – $2.7 billion (14.8 billion hryvnia, or 24% of customs revenue, was paid to the budget during customs clearance), fuel and energy products accounted for $1.1 billion (UAH 26.6 billion, or 43% of revenues), and chemical industry products accounted for $869 million (UAH 7.1 billion was paid, which is 11% of customs payments).
The top three most exported goods from Ukraine were food products ($2 billion), metals and metal products ($286 million), and machinery, equipment, and transport ($253 million).
The State Customs Service added that in January 2026, UAH 187.1 million was paid to the budget from customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
Wheat flour exports from Ukraine in the 2025/2026 season may amount to 65,000 tons, which is 2.6% lower than in the previous marketing year (67,000 tons), according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
Analysts noted that in the first seven months of the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY, July-June), shipments to foreign markets amounted to 37.5 thousand tons, which is 7% less than in July-January of the previous season. In particular, in January 2026, exports fell by 23% to 4.3 thousand tons.
The main consumers of Ukrainian flour remain Moldova with a share of 30%, Palestine with 20%, and the Czech Republic with 16%. At the same time, the volumes of purchases by key importers decreased: Moldova imported 11.4 thousand tons (-8%), Palestine — 7.3 thousand tons (-10%), and the Czech Republic — 5.9 thousand tons (-32%). At the same time, analysts recorded an increase in demand from Israel and Spain, which purchased 3 thousand tons and 2.7 thousand tons, respectively, during the specified period.
Analysts attribute the decline in export estimates to a reduction in domestic production. In July-January 2025/26 MY, Ukraine produced 510.5 thousand tons of flour, which is 10% less than in the previous season, according to APK-Inform.
Cucumber exports from Ukraine grew by 19.7% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 3.76 thousand tons, according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
Poland (54.5% of exports in monetary terms), Estonia (36.4%), and Moldova (7.5%) were the most active buyers of Ukrainian cucumbers in 2025.
A year earlier, the top three were the same, but with a different distribution of shares: Estonia (50.6%), Poland (32.6%), and Moldova (9.3%).