Ukraine’s exports of goods in 2023 fell by 18.5% year-on-year, from $44.2 billion to $36 billion, while imports increased by 14.4%, from $55.5 billion to $63.5 billion, the State Customs Service reported on Friday.
As a result, according to its data, Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in 2023 decreased by only 0.3% to $99.4 billion.
It is specified that taxable imports amounted to $52.6 billion, or 83% of the total volume of imported goods. It is noted that the tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in 2023 increased by 38% to $0.49/kg.
According to the published data, China imported the most goods to Ukraine – $10.4 billion, Poland – $6.6 billion and Germany – $4.9 billion, while the most were exported to Poland – $4.7 billion, Romania – $3.7 billion, and China – $2.4 billion.
Machinery, equipment and transport accounted for 65% of the total volume of goods imported in 2023 – $19.8 billion (UAH 141.7 billion, or 31% of customs revenues, was paid to the budget during customs clearance of such goods), chemical products – $11 billion (UAH 74.8 billion, or 16% of customs payments) and fuel and energy products – $10.3 billion (UAH 103.4 billion, or 23% of customs payments).
The top 3 exports from Ukraine in 2023 were food products – $21.8 billion, metals and metal products – $3.9 billion, and machinery, equipment and transport – $2.9 billion.
The State Customs Service clarified that UAH 559.2 million was paid to the budget during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
In January-November this year, Ukraine reduced imports of coke and semi-coke in physical terms by 10.9% year-on-year to 303,208 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), coke imports in monetary terms decreased by 29.4% to $119.198 million during this period.
Ukraine exported 3,383 thousand tons of coke in 11 months of 2023, down 12.3% year-on-year. In monetary terms, it decreased by 22.2% to $787 thousand.
Exports were carried out to Moldova (100% of supplies in monetary terms), while imports were mainly from Poland (88.65%), Colombia (8.39%) and the Czech Republic (2.25%).
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of coke and semi-coke in physical terms by 98% compared to the previous year – to 3,856 thousand tons, and in monetary terms by 97.6% – to $1,011 million. The main exports were made to Hungary (42.63% of supplies in monetary terms), Georgia (37.69%) and Turkey (17.41%).
In 2022, Ukraine imported 359.192 thousand tons of coke and semi-coke, which is 54.5% less than in 2021. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 50.3% to $174.499 million. Imports were carried out mainly from the Russian Federation (43.43% of supplies in monetary terms, before the war), Poland (30.07%) and the Czech Republic (13.15%).
As a result of the war, a number of mines and coke plants are located in the territories temporarily not controlled by Ukraine.
In January-November this year, Ukrainian companies doubled their imports of copper and copper products in value terms compared to the same period last year, to $119.939 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, exports of copper and copper products decreased by 21.8% to $65.172 million over the period.
In November, the country imported copper worth $15.907 million and exported it worth $3.802 million.
In addition, in 11 months of 2023, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and products by 75.7% compared to the same period in 2022 to $14.366 million ($1.928 million in November), while aluminum and aluminum products increased by 7.6% to $334.511 million ($26.885 million).
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 67.5% to $919 thousand ($28 thousand), imports of tin and tin products by 23% to $2.419 million ($135 thousand), but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 23.3% to $42.302 million ($4.776 million).
In January-November this year, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year to $89.183 million ($7.176 million in November), exports of lead and lead products increased by 33.1% to $14.074 million ($1.267 million), and exports of nickel and nickel products amounted to $508 thousand ($251 thousand), while in 11 months of 2022 it was $1.168 million.
Zinc was exported for $117 thousand over 11 months (in November – $19 thousand) against $1.321 million in January-November 2022. Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $79 thousand (up $22 thousand in November) against $423 thousand in 11 months of 2012.
As reported, in 2022, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 64.3% compared to the previous year – to $65.370 million, while their exports decreased by 56.3% to $90.245 million.
In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 49.9% compared to 2021, to $59.754 million, and aluminum and aluminum products by 33.4%, to $340.398 million. At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 66.6%, to $2.839 million.
Imports of tin and tin products fell by 33.5% to $3.312 million, and imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 58.7% to $38.690 million.
In 2022, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 42.7% compared to 2021, to $96.972 million, lead and lead products – by 68.7%, to $11.970 million, and nickel and nickel products – by 73.9%, to $1.268 million.
Zinc exports in 2022 amounted to $1.331 million, while in 2021 they amounted to $550 thousand. Exports of tin and products in 2022 amounted to $424 thousand, compared to $346 thousand in the previous year.
Bulgaria has authorized licensed imports of Ukrainian sunflower, rapeseed, corn and wheat, according to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria.
According to the report, during an online meeting on Friday, the Ministers of Agriculture of Bulgaria and Ukraine Kirill Vatev and Nikolay Solsky agreed to implement a licensed export regime for sunflower, rapeseed, corn and wheat seeds and agreed on the details of its application.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has kept its promise to limit imports of these agricultural products as much as possible until November 30, according to the Memorandum signed between the government and the Initiative Committee of Protesting Farmers,” the Bulgarian ministry quoted Minister Vatev as saying.
He emphasized that after this period, the two countries will “strictly monitor that there are no market distortions and that the interests of Bulgarian producers, processors and consumers are not undermined.”
Imports and data exchange between the two countries will continue, the Bulgarian ministry emphasized.
As reported, in November 2023, the Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine Solsky expressed the opinion that Bulgaria, which refrained from imposing a unilateral ban after September 15, could become the first frontline country to lift the ban on Ukrainian agricultural products.
In his opinion, the crop that Bulgaria will be ready to import from Ukraine will be sunflower. In Bulgaria, in the fall of 2023, a compromise was reached between farmers and processors to open the market for imports of Ukrainian sunflower from December 1. By this time, local sunflower oil producers, according to the Bulgarian government, will have to buy back the sunflower seeds produced by farmers, and they will need an additional 1.5 million tons of raw materials.
Earlier, Stepan Kapshuk, head of the industry association Ukroliyaprom, told Interfax-Ukraine that Bulgaria has 16 oil extraction plants that have significantly increased production in the 2022 season and intend to develop sunflower oil exports using sunflower seeds imported from Ukraine.
On September 15, the European Commission announced that it would not extend the restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to five neighboring EU countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia) under certain conditions that will help avoid a new sharp increase in supplies.
The restrictions were introduced on May 2, 2023, and applied to imports of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower, and corn. These five Eastern European EU member states argued that Ukrainian agricultural products, when imported duty-free into the EU, were being deposited in their countries and were harming their local agricultural sectors.
After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia imposed unilateral bans. Poland expanded its list of banned products to include rapeseed cake and meal, as well as corn bran, wheat flour, and derivatives. Hungary extended the list to 24 commodity items.
Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the WTO, accusing Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia of discriminatory treatment of its agricultural products.
Ukraine is currently negotiating a mechanism for licensing exports of Ukrainian agricultural products with mandatory verification in each of the five countries.
The Cabinet of Ministers has simplified the import of power equipment, including generators and transformers, to Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“We are preparing for winter at all levels. Today we will approve a resolution that simplifies the import of power equipment, in particular generators and transformers, to Ukraine,” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Friday.
According to him, to do this, the government will actually suspend six technical regulations that were applied to the import and sale of energy equipment.
“Now, a number of these goods will not require a declaration of conformity and marking with a conformity mark,” he concluded.
The volume of imports to Ukraine in January-October 2023 amounted to $52.17 billion, which is 18.2%, or $8.03 billion, more than in the same period a year earlier.
At the same time, the volume of Ukrainian exports decreased by 19.1%, or $7.03 billion, to $29.83 billion, according to the website of the State Customs Service.
The negative balance for the first 10 months of this year amounted to $22.34 billion, which is 3.1 times more than in the same period last year.
According to the State Customs Service, exports of goods fell by 18.1% to $27.1 billion in the first nine months of the year, while imports increased by 18.9% to $46.6 billion, and the negative balance of trade in goods increased by 3.2 times to $19.5 billion.
It is specified that over the first 10 months of this year, imports from the EU increased by 23.5% to $26.71 billion, while exports decreased by 15.8% to $19.45 billion.
At the same time, imports from the CIS countries fell 4.2 times to $1.03 billion in January-October this year compared to the same period last year, while exports from Ukraine to these countries fell 36.4% to $1.33 billion, making trade with these countries surplus, whereas before the war it was traditionally deficit.
Finally, imports from other countries increased by 34% to $24.42 billion over 10 months of this year, while imports decreased by 22.4% to $9.04 billion.
“At the same time, taxable imports amounted to $43.4 billion, which is 83% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxable imports in January-October 2023 amounted to $0.49 per kg, which is 44% more than in the same period in 2022,” the release said.
According to the State Customs Service, the countries from which Ukraine imported the most goods were: China – $8.4 billion ($6.6 billion in 10 months of 2022), Poland – $5.5 billion ($4.4 billion) and Germany – $4.1 billion ($3.7 billion).
Most of Ukraine’s goods were exported to Poland – $4.1 billion ($5.7 billion), Romania – $3.3 billion ($3.0 billion), and Turkey – $2.0 billion ($2.4 billion).
In January-October 2023, 65% of the total volume of imported goods was machinery, equipment and transport – $16 billion (UAH 115.2 billion, or 31% of customs revenues, was paid to the budget during customs clearance), chemical products – $9.3 billion (UAH 63.6 billion, or 17%), fuel and energy products – $8.7 billion (UAH 79.3 billion, or 21%).
It is specified that imports of machinery, equipment and transport increased by 30%, chemical products – by 17%, while fuel and energy products decreased by 18%.
The top three most exported goods from Ukraine are: food products – $17.7 billion (down 4%), metals and metal products – $3.3 billion (down 19%), machinery, equipment and transport – $2.5 billion (down 30%).
The State Customs Service added that UAH 500.7 million was paid to the budget during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties.
The State Customs Service also reported that in 10 months of 2023, customs authorities detected violations of customs rules worth UAH 7.6 billion.
