Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Ukraine’s foreign trade deficit in goods rose by nearly 50% over seven months—to $34 bln

Ukraine’s trade deficit in goods for January–July 2026 amounted to approximately $34 billion, compared to $22.7 billion for the same period in 2025, according to calculations based on data from the State Customs Service (SCS).

Thus, the merchandise trade deficit for the year increased by approximately $11.3 billion, or nearly 50%.
Imports of goods into Ukraine over the seven-month period rose by 26.6%—to $58.1 billion from $45.9 billion a year earlier—while exports increased by only 3.8%—to $24.1 billion from $23.2 billion.

The export-to-import ratio, calculated based on GTS data, fell to approximately 41.5% from 50.5% in January–July 2025.
The bulk of imports consisted of machinery, equipment, and transportation vehicles—$25.7 billion; fuel and energy products—$8.5 billion; and chemical industry products—$8 billion. Collectively, these three groups accounted for about 73% of total merchandise imports.

Food products remained the leading export category at $14.1 billion. Metals and metal products totaled $2.5 billion in exports, while machinery, equipment, and transportation vehicles totaled $2.1 billion.
The largest suppliers of goods to Ukraine were China ($16.8 billion), Poland ($5.5 billion), and Germany ($3.8 billion).

The main markets for Ukrainian exports were Poland ($2.8 billion), Turkey ($2 billion), and Germany ($1.5 billion).

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Ukraine Has Been Exporting Electricity for 4 Weeks in Row

From July 27 to August 2, Ukraine reduced electricity imports by 32.0% compared to the previous week—to 22,600 MWh—while exports rose by 49.6%—to 84,200 MWh, according to the DIXI Group analytical center, citing data from Energy Map.

“Thus, Ukraine has maintained its status as a net exporter for the fourth consecutive week: the volume of electricity supplied abroad exceeded imports by a factor of 3.7,” the center noted.
Last week’s export growth was driven by increased demand for electricity in European countries due to hot weather and competitive pricing conditions. Throughout the week, prices on Ukraine’s “day-ahead” (DAA) market remained lower than on the DAA markets of neighboring Eastern European countries.

According to Energy Map, Hungary accounted for the largest share of imports last month—7.8 thousand MWh, or 34.6%. Romania accounted for 6,900 MWh (30.4%), Slovakia for 5,900 MWh (26.3%), and Poland for 2,000 MWh (8.7%).
Exports, in turn, took place daily, and their daily volumes throughout the week were 2–6 times higher than imports.

Hungary also remained the main export destination, with 36.3 thousand MWh (43.1% of total exports) supplied there. Exports to Moldova totaled 25.8 thousand MWh (30.6%), to Romania – 18.9 thousand MWh (22.5%), to Slovakia – 3.1 thousand MWh (3.7%), and to Poland – 0.1 thousand MWh (0.1%).
Compared to the previous week, exports increased by 7–70% for most destinations.

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Ukraine ranked 20th among Uzbekistan’s largest trading partners in first half of 2026

Ukraine ranked 20th among Uzbekistan’s largest trading partners for the period from January through June 2026, according to data from the National Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan.

Foreign trade turnover between Ukraine and Uzbekistan over the six-month period totaled $206.1 million, compared to $151.9 million during the same period in 2025. Thus, bilateral trade increased by 35.7%.
Ukrainian exports to Uzbekistan totaled approximately $171.9 million, while Uzbek exports to Ukraine were estimated at $34.2 million. Ukraine’s trade surplus with Uzbekistan reached approximately $137.7 million.

Ukraine accounted for about 0.5% of Uzbekistan’s total foreign trade turnover.
Overall, Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover in January–June 2026 amounted to about $41 billion.

China remained the country’s largest trading partner, accounting for 23.1% of total trade, or about $9.5 billion. Russia ranked second with a share of 17.1%, corresponding to approximately $7 billion.
Uzbekistan’s top five trading partners also included Kazakhstan with a 6.8% share, Turkey with 3.4%, and Afghanistan with 2.6%.

Separately, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade reported that the country’s exports, excluding gold, totaled $14.4 billion in the first half of the year, an increase of 32.2%, or $3.5 billion, compared to the same period last year.

The main market for Uzbek goods and services was Russia, to which $2.4 billion worth of products were shipped. Exports to China totaled $2.18 billion, to Afghanistan – $961 million, to Kazakhstan – $715 million, to France – $707 million, to Turkey – $516 million, and to Kyrgyzstan – $453 million.
The main drivers of growth in Uzbek exports were services ($5.7 billion), light industrial goods ($1.66 billion), metallurgical and mining products ($1.3 billion), fruits and vegetables ($875 million), and construction materials ($714 million).

Uzbekistan’s export geography expanded to include seven additional countries and territories in the first half of the year, bringing the total to 211 countries and territories.
Sources: National Committee on Statistics of Uzbekistan and a press release from the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan dated July 29, 2026.

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NKMZ Increased Its Half-Year Loss by 3.7 Times

The Novokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant (NKMZ, Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast) ended the first half of 2026 with a loss of 228.2 million UAH, a 3.7-fold increase compared to January–June 2025

According to the financial report published on the plant’s website, net sales revenue for this period fell by more than half—to 371.4 million UAH.
The gross loss amounted to 63.4 million UAH, compared to a profit of 173.3 million UAH in January–June 2025, while the operating loss reached 275 million UAH (a 5.5-fold increase).

Products worth UAH 351.7 million, or 94.7% of total revenue, were exported during the reporting period, while the volume of exports fell by more than half.
Specifically, exports to the main export market, India, fell by 47.2% to 166.8 million UAH; exports to Slovakia dropped by nearly 20% to 45.5 million UAH; by a factor of 3.2 to Romania—to 3.7 million UAH—and there were no shipments to Bulgaria (63.4 million UAH in the first half of 2025), Lithuania (36.2 million UAH), or France (6.1 million UAH).

In contrast, shipments to Poland increased 3.6-fold—to 44.9 million UAH, and to Luxembourg by 47.5%—to 63.9 million UAH.
In the second quarter, the volume of products sold amounted to 194.6 million UAH, including 189.7 million UAH for export; the volume of marketable products was 99.9 million UAH, including 95.0 million UAH for export. The loss amounted to 112.7 million UAH (compared to 88.4 million UAH a year ago).

“Despite the difficult economic situation and martial law in Ukraine, NKMZ will continue to maintain its equipment and workforce and develop projects in the field of research and innovation,” the report states.
At the same time, the plant notes that operating amid Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, the proximity of the front lines, logistical challenges, and disruptions in energy supply have led to a significant reduction in production volumes and irregular operations.

Under these conditions, the company has temporarily suspended production since June of this year. According to information on the company’s website, on June 12 of this year, it refuted media reports regarding the relocation of NKMZ to Perechyn (Zakarpattia Oblast).
“PJSC ‘NKMZ’ is not relocating the enterprise to the city of Perechyn, is not moving its production facilities, and is not implementing any projects related to the enterprise’s relocation to Zakarpattia Oblast,” reads a statement from the press service on the website.

NKMZ is a key employer in Kramatorsk and Ukraine’s largest manufacturer of rolled steel, metallurgical, forging and pressing, hydraulic, mining, hoisting and transport, and railway equipment.
The plant ended 2025 with a loss of 127 million UAH, whereas in 2024, net profit amounted to 36.3 million UAH, following a 29.6% increase in net revenue to 1.49 billion UAH.

As of July 1, 2026, the average headcount of full-time employees stood at 4,018—a decrease of 12.7%, or 587 people, compared to the previous year.

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Ukraine has increased grain exports by 54.9% since start of season

As of July 31, 2026, Ukraine had exported, since the start of the 2026/27 marketing year (MY, July–June), 2.601 million metric tons of grains and legumes, which is 54.9% more than on the same date a year ago, when this figure stood at 1.679 million metric tons.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, citing data from the State Customs Service, total exports of grains, legumes, and flour reached 2.603 million metric tons, compared to 1.684 million metric tons on the same date last marketing year.

Specifically, wheat exports totaled 1.059 million metric tons, compared to 744,000 metric tons a year ago; corn exports totaled 1.244 million metric tons, compared to 627,000 metric tons; and barley exports totaled 294,000 metric tons, compared to 267,000 metric tons. As was the case last year, no rye was exported.

Flour exports since the start of the 2026/27 marketing year totaled 1,800 metric tons, which is half the volume recorded on the same date last marketing year (3,600 metric tons). In particular, wheat flour exports also halved—to 1,700 metric tons from 3,400 metric tons a year ago.

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Serbia’s trade with Ukraine rose by 42% in first half of year

According to “Serbian Economist”, Ukraine ranked 28th among Serbia’s trading partners in the first half of 2026.

Total trade between the two countries amounted to 275.9 million euros, compared to 194.6 million euros a year earlier. Thus, trade volume increased by approximately 41.8%. This is according to data from the Republic of Serbia’s Statistical Office, published on July 31, 2026.

Serbian exports to Ukraine rose by 80.2% to 161.3 million euros. Imports of Ukrainian goods increased by 9% to 114.6 million euros.

As a result, Serbia shifted from a deficit of 15.6 million euros in the first half of 2025 to a surplus of 46.7 million euros in January–June 2026.

Ukraine accounted for 0.9% of Serbia’s total exports and 0.5% of its imports.

Despite rapid growth, the volume of trade remains modest compared to the potential of both countries. Serbia’s trade with Ukraine is nearly 19 times smaller than its trade with Germany and approximately 16 times smaller than its trade with China.

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