In 2025, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products in monetary terms by 23.2% compared to the previous year, to $173.453 million. Copper exports for the same period grew by 17.7%, to $103.848 million.
In December alone, imports amounted to $13.311 million, while exports amounted to $10.318 million.
As reported, Ukraine maintained copper imports at the previous year’s level ($140.797 million) in 2024, and in 2023, it increased them by 2.2 times compared to 2022.
Copper is widely used in electrical engineering, in the production of pipes, for creating alloys, in medicine, and in other industries.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center released a video dedicated to global copper production and leading producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/_h8iU50z8C0?si=a-XkgGEfeUxseQNa
From January 1, 2026, China has completely stopped purchasing electricity from Russia, including the minimum contractual volumes. The reason is related to prices: the export cost of supplies from Russia in 2026 for the first time exceeded domestic electricity tariffs in China, making imports uneconomic. In China, the price remains virtually unchanged and is estimated at about 350 yuan per 1 MWh.
The contract for electricity supplies to China was concluded in 2012 and is valid until 2037.
Earlier, Inter RAO had already recorded a reduction in electricity exports to China in 2025 amid supply constraints in Russia’s Far East region, Reuters reported.
Ukraine has significantly reduced its presence in the EU market for soft wheat supplies in the 2025/26 season: its share in EU imports fell to 22.3% from 67.3% a year earlier, according to SPIKE BROKERS.
According to the statistics, soft wheat imports to the EU fell by 52% from 4.43 million tons to 2.15 million tons, while Ukraine’s share fell from 2.98 million tons to 479,000 tons, meaning it lost its leading position among suppliers.
Against this backdrop, Canada increased its share of EU imports to 40% (858,000 tons) compared to 13% a year earlier, while Moldova and Serbia increased their presence to 17.3% and 14.3%, respectively.
SPIKE BROKERS also notes that Ukrainian wheat exports in early January were concentrated mainly in the markets of the Middle East and North Africa, while activity in the EU remains minimal.
Imports of goods to Ukraine in January-December 2025 amounted to $84.8 billion in monetary terms, while in the previous year this figure was 20% lower at $70.7 billion, according to data from the press service of the State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCS).
According to the publication, exports of goods, on the contrary, decreased from $41.6 billion in 2024 to $40.3 billion in 2025.
“Taxable imports amounted to $64.3 billion, which is 76% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxed imports in January-December 2025 amounted to $0.52/kg,” the SCS noted in its report on trade turnover in 2025.
During 2025, the top three countries from which Ukraine imported the most goods remained almost unchanged: China – $19.2 billion, Poland – $7.9 billion, and Germany – $6.6 billion.
During the year, Ukraine exported the most to Poland – $5 billion, Turkey – $2.7 billion, and Germany – $2.4 billion.
In terms of the total volume of goods imported in 2025, the largest share was accounted for by machinery, equipment and transport – $34.1 billion (with customs clearance, UAH 207.8 billion was paid to the budget, or 29% of customs revenue), chemical industry products – $12.5 billion (97.8 billion hryvnia paid to the budget, accounting for 14% of customs revenue), fuel and energy – $10.5 billion (214.8 billion hryvnia paid, or 30% of customs revenue).
As in the previous year, the top three most exported goods from Ukraine were food products – $22.5 billion, metals and metal products – $4.7 billion, and machinery, equipment and transport – $3.6 billion.
The State Customs Service added that in January-December 2025, during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties, UAH 1.53 billion was paid to the budget, which is significantly more than in 2024, when UAH 311.3 million was received by the budget.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbian oil and gas company NIS has announced the signing of a contract to import the first batches of oil via the Adriatic oil pipeline (JANAF) for the refinery in Pančevo and preparations to resume processing after a shutdown in early December 2025 due to a shortage of raw materials amid sanctions restrictions.
According to Reuters, the first shipment includes about 85,000 tonnes of Iraqi Kirkuk oil, followed by a smaller batch of Libyan Es Sider. These volumes will keep the plant running for at least a few days, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has predicted that the refinery will be able to resume operations on 17-18 January, with the production of petroleum products likely to begin on 25-26 January.
The resumption of imports became possible after the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a temporary licence allowing NIS to continue operating until 23 January 2026. Reuters also reported that a separate licence had been issued to the operator JANAF to transport oil for NIS for the same period.
The situation surrounding NIS remains linked to negotiations on changes to its ownership structure. The US is awaiting negotiations on the withdrawal of the Russian share, with the deadline for the negotiation process extended to 24 March 2026, and Hungarian company MOL is named as one of the participants in the discussions.
NIS is a key player in the Serbian fuel market: the company owns the country’s only oil refinery (Pančevo) and the largest network of petrol stations, so any disruption in the supply of raw materials directly affects the balance of the petroleum products market and Serbia’s import needs.
In December 2025, Ukraine significantly increased its electricity imports – by 54% compared to the previous month, to 639.5 thousand MWh, which was the highest figure since July 2024, the DIXI Group analytical center reported on its website on Wednesday, citing data from Energy Map.
“The increase in imports occurred against the backdrop of a deterioration in the power grid due to massive attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure and seasonal growth in consumption,” the center said.
During December, Russia carried out four massive attacks, targeting electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities. In particular, the attacks on December 6 and 23 led to a forced reduction in the generation of nuclear power plants, which provide more than half of Ukraine’s total electricity production. An additional factor contributing to the increased load on the power system was a significant drop in air temperature throughout the country, which led to an increase in energy consumption.
According to Energy Map, the increase in supply volumes was usually recorded the day after or two days after the shelling, during a period of reduced available generation and growing power shortages. Thus, after the attack on December 6, imports increased to 21.3 thousand MWh on December 7 (+18%) and to 32.6 thousand MWh on December 8 (+81%). A similar trend was observed after other massive strikes that took place on December 13, 23, and 27.
In December, Hungary accounted for the largest share of imports – 41%. Slovakia accounted for 21%, Romania and Poland for 18% each, and Moldova for 2%.
In December, the maximum transmission capacity of inter-state crossings for electricity imports increased from 2.1 GW to 2.3 GW. On average, the available transmission capacity was used at 37.4% during the month.
“Thus, December 2025 was the third consecutive month that Ukraine ended as a net importer of electricity,” DIXI Group emphasized.
On the other hand, Ukraine did not export electricity in December. The last time zero export volumes were recorded was in August 2024.
