In January–July 2026, Ukrainian steelmakers saw their foreign exchange revenue from ferrous metal exports decline by 7.6% compared to the same period last year—to $1.678 billion from $1.816 billion.
This is according to data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
The share of ferrous metals in Ukraine’s total merchandise export revenue over the first seven months fell to 6.95% from 7.79% in January–July 2025, or by 0.84 percentage points.
Thus, metallurgical products continue to account for a significant portion of Ukraine’s merchandise exports, but their share is shrinking amid a decline in the sector’s foreign exchange earnings.
At the same time, imports of ferrous metals into Ukraine continued to grow. In January–July, they increased by 7.2% to $1.023 billion.
Despite the contrasting trends in exports and imports, Ukraine maintained a positive trade balance in ferrous metals of approximately $655 million over the seven-month period.
The situation with fabricated metal products deteriorated separately. Exports of these products fell by 10.8% to $507.5 million, while imports rose by 6% to $697.6 million. As a result, the foreign trade deficit in fabricated metal products stood at about $190 million.
By comparison, at the end of 2025, export revenue from ferrous metals rose by 7.85% to $3.339 billion, and their share of total merchandise exports reached 8.25%. In 2024, exports of ferrous metals increased by another 16.9%—to $3.096 billion.
Thus, after two years of growth in the metallurgical sector’s export revenues, the trend reversed in 2026: revenues are declining, while imports of ferrous metals and metal products continue to rise.
Ukraine exported $14.1 billion worth of food products in January–July 2026, according to data from the State Customs Service. Based on calculations using State Customs Service statistics, food products accounted for about 58.5% of Ukraine’s total merchandise exports, which amounted to $24.1 billion over the seven-month period.
Metals and metal products ranked second among export categories at $2.5 billion, or slightly more than 10% of total exports.
Machinery, equipment, and transportation vehicles were exported in the amount of $2.1 billion, corresponding to approximately 8.7% of total exports.
Thus, food products, metal products, and machinery collectively accounted for about 77.6% of Ukraine’s merchandise exports.
Poland remained the largest market for Ukrainian goods over the seven-month period, with $2.8 billion worth of products shipped there. Exports to Turkey totaled $2 billion, and to Germany—$1.5 billion.
Overall, Ukrainian exports in January–July 2026 grew by 3.8% compared to the same period last year—rising to $24.1 billion from $23.2 billion.
At the same time, imports grew much faster—by 26.6%, to $58.1 billion.
Ukraine exported $14.1 billion worth of food products in January–July 2026, according to data from the State Customs Service.
According to calculations by the Experts Club information and analytical centre based on State Customs Service statistics, food products accounted for approximately 58.5% of Ukraine’s total merchandise exports, which amounted to $24.1 billion over the seven-month period.
Metals and metal products ranked second among export categories at $2.5 billion, or slightly more than 10% of total exports.
Exports of machinery, equipment and transport vehicles amounted to $2.1 billion, corresponding to approximately 8.7% of external shipments.
Thus, food, metal products and engineering products collectively accounted for approximately 77.6% of Ukraine’s merchandise exports.
Poland remained the largest market for Ukrainian goods over the seven-month period, receiving $2.8 billion worth of products. Exports to Türkiye amounted to $2 billion, while exports to Germany totalled $1.5 billion.
Overall, Ukrainian exports in January–July 2026 increased by 3.8% compared with the same period last year, rising to $24.1 billion from $23.2 billion.
At the same time, imports increased significantly faster, rising by 26.6% to $58.1 billion.
Railway grain shipments to the ports of Greater Odesa during the first five days of August fell by 84.3% compared to the same period in July—to 40.8 thousand metric tons, according to the brokerage firm Spike Brokers.
According to its data, the total volume of agricultural exports from Ukraine for August 1–6 amounted to 312,900 metric tons, compared to 784,500 metric tons for the same period in July, a decrease of 60.1%. At the same time, export revenue decreased by 38.4%—to $201.5 million from $326.9 million.
The sharpest decline was seen in grains: wheat exports for the first six days of August totaled 93.2 thousand metric tons, compared to 294.9 thousand metric tons in early July, while corn exports totaled 33.5 thousand metric tons, compared to 293.7 thousand metric tons, respectively.
At the same time, a seasonal flow of rapeseed totaling 27,900 metric tons appeared in the structure of August exports, while shipments of soybean meal rose to 25,700 metric tons from 18,600 metric tons during the corresponding period in July. Sunflower oil exports fell to 30.7 thousand metric tons from 52.1 thousand metric tons.
During the first five days of August, a total of 182 thousand metric tons of grain and milled products were transported by rail, which is 44.1% less than during the same period in July.
“Data from Ukrainian Railways (UZ) for the first five days of the month show a sharp decline in rail grain shipments to seaports, while land-based rail crossings and road exports are operating at a relatively higher level,” the report states.
As for overland logistics channels, from August 1–6, 59,600 metric tons of agricultural products were exported through road border crossings, compared to 53,600 metric tons during the same period in July (an increase of 11.3%).
According to Spike Brokers, the average daily throughput of grain and meal shipments through border crossings during the first five days of August was 142 railcars, compared to 139 railcars in July.
Volumes increased the most on the Romanian route—to 31.2 railcars per day, or 29.3 railcars more than in July. Poland increased its shipments to 27.4 railcars per day (+13.8). In contrast, Hungary reduced this figure to 23 railcars per day (-15.9), and Slovakia to 14.2 railcars per day (-2.7). The backlog of grain railcars heading toward the border rose from 369 to 521 railcars, or by 41.2%.
“In contrast to the slower overall pace of agricultural exports, the road transport channel began August with greater activity than in July. However, its absolute capacity remains insufficient to compensate for the reduction in large-tonnage grain flows through seaports,” the report states.
An increase in activity was also recorded on the Danube route: the number of grain cars in transit rose to 1,296 (+155), and the average daily unloading rate increased to 157 cars (+106).
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).
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.
