China, Poland and Turkey topped the list of Ukraine’s largest trading partners based on the results of January-May 2026, according to foreign trade in goods data as of May 31, 2026.
According to calculations by the Experts Club analytical center based on the presented statistics, Ukraine’s total trade turnover with all countries of the world in the first five months of 2026 amounted to about $58.1 billion. Imports reached $40.5 billion, exports — $17.6 billion, while the negative balance of trade in goods amounted to about $22.9 billion.
The top 10 trading partners accounted for about $36.1 billion in trade turnover, or approximately 62% of Ukraine’s total trade in goods. At the same time, they accounted for about $27.1 billion in imports and $9.0 billion in exports. This shows that Ukraine’s foreign trade in 2026 remains highly concentrated around several key directions, while the overall balance is formed primarily by imports from the largest economies of Europe, Asia and the United States.
China ranked first by a wide margin. Ukraine’s trade turnover with China in January-May amounted to $11.75 billion. At the same time, imports from China reached $11.09 billion, while Ukrainian exports amounted to only $663.8 million. The negative trade balance with China amounted to $10.43 billion, making the PRC the main source of Ukraine’s trade deficit.
Poland ranks second with trade turnover of $5.85 billion. Ukraine imported $3.88 billion worth of goods from Poland and exported $1.97 billion worth of goods. The balance remained negative and amounted to $1.91 billion. Poland retains its importance as one of Ukraine’s main trade and logistics channels to the EU, especially amid the reorientation of Ukrainian trade following the start of the full-scale war.
Turkey ranked third with trade turnover of $4.21 billion. Imports from Turkey amounted to $2.66 billion, Ukraine’s exports — $1.55 billion, and the negative balance — $1.11 billion. Turkey remains an important trade destination for Ukraine in the Black Sea region, combining the role of a supplier of industrial goods and a market for Ukrainian products.
Germany and the United States also entered the top five. Trade with Germany amounted to $3.68 billion, and with the United States — $2.49 billion. In both cases, Ukraine has a significant deficit: $1.56 billion with Germany and $1.53 billion with the United States. This reflects dependence on imports of equipment, machinery, transport, pharmaceuticals, energy-related and defense-related goods.
Italy ranked sixth, but the structure of its trade differs noticeably from that of other major partners. Trade turnover amounted to $2.17 billion, while imports and exports were almost equal: $1.09 billion and $1.08 billion, respectively. The negative balance with Italy amounted to only $9.5 million, making it one of Ukraine’s most balanced major trading partners.
Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia ranked seventh through tenth. Trade turnover with Hungary amounted to $1.62 billion, with the Czech Republic — $1.45 billion, with the Netherlands — $1.45 billion, and with Slovakia — $1.42 billion. Among them, the Netherlands stands out: it is the only country in the top 10 with which Ukraine has a positive balance — $213.9 million. This is associated with a higher volume of Ukrainian exports compared with imports.
“The structure of the top ten shows that Ukrainian foreign trade in 2026 remains both European and Asian. The EU is the key space for trade, logistics and exports, but China remains the main supplier of imported goods. The main challenge for Ukraine is not only to increase exports, but also to reduce the asymmetry of trade with its largest partners, especially through products with higher added value,” said Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
It is also important that seven EU countries entered the top 10: Poland, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Their combined role confirms that the European Union remains Ukraine’s basic trade framework. However, even within the EU, the structure is heterogeneous: Poland and Germany generate a large deficit for Ukraine, Italy is almost balanced, while the Netherlands provides a positive balance.
China remains a separate problem for the trade balance. Its share of Ukrainian imports in the first five months of 2026 exceeds a quarter of total imports of goods, while Ukrainian exports to China remain limited. As a result, almost half of Ukraine’s total trade deficit is generated solely in the Chinese direction.
For Ukraine, this means that restoring the foreign trade balance will require not only growth in exports of agricultural and metallurgical products, but also the development of new export niches — mechanical engineering, processing, food products, IT-related goods and industrial cooperation with the EU.
For reference: the Experts Club analytical center used data on Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods by countries of the world as of May 31, 2026. All indicators in the source table are given in thousands of US dollars.
EXPERTS CLUB, FOREIGN TRADE, TRADE BALANCE, TRADING PARTNERS, МАКСИМ УРАКІН
Ukraine’s revenue from export of grain crops in 2021 amounted to $12.3 billion, the largest trading partners were China, which imported $2.55 billion, as well as Egypt ($1.39 billion) and Turkey ($0.92 billion), the Institute of Agrarian Economics (IAE) reported on its website on Thursday.
“2021 was characterized by the further strengthening of the position of China, which in 2020 for the first time took the top among 10 largest importers of Ukrainian grain. In four years, starting from 2018, this country has increased its grain purchases from Ukraine almost five times, to $2.55 billion. At the same time, China’s share in the value of domestic grain exports increased from 19.7% in 2020 to 20.7% in 2021,” the IAE said, citing expert Bohdan Dukhnitsky.
According to the IAE, last year Egypt increased imports of Ukrainian grains by 24%, from $1.12 billion to $1.37 billion, but its share of their total exports decreased from 11.9% to 11.2%.
“Turkey, which in 2020 ranked only sixth in the top 10, moved up to the third spot last year, increasing the value of purchases of Ukrainian grain to $0.92 billion. In addition, in 2021, there were changes in the top 10 largest buyers of grain from Ukraine: Iran and Pakistan pushed South Korea and Bangladesh out of the top 10,” the expert said in the IAE report.
Other major grain importers from Ukraine were Indonesia with $750 million, Spain with $645 million, the Netherlands with $552 million, Iran with $533 million, Pakistan with $355 million, Libya with $342 million and Tunisia with $306 million.
The IAE said that in total, these 10 countries had dominated in the value of all grain purchases in Ukraine in 2021 (their share was more than two thirds).
As reported, since the beginning of 2021/22 (July-June) and as of February 2, Ukraine exported 38.63 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops (31.6% more compared to the same date of the previous year), including 17.08 million tonnes of wheat (30.4% more), 15.64 million tonnes of corn (32.6% more), 5.48 million tonnes of barley (38.7% more), 0.16 million tons rye (92 times more), 63,800 tonnes of flour (27.0% less).
Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva and South Africa Ambassador Andre Johannes Groenewald discussed the further development of the bilateral cooperation.
“The parties identified the priority steps to intensify the political dialogue between the two countries and discussed the further schedule of high-level contacts, taking into account the development of the epidemiological situation in the world,” the press service of the President’s Office said.
During the meeting, Zhovkva spoke about the importance of further deepening economic cooperation and noted that Ukraine considers South Africa as one of the most promising trade partners in Africa.
The importance of closer and more constructive interaction between Ukraine and South Africa under its non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council was also emphasized.
“During the meeting, a number of other issues of a bilateral nature were also discussed, including the interaction of the two countries in the fight against the [coronavirus] COVID-19 pandemic and the modalities of the early evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from South Africa,” the presidential press service said.
Zhovkva congratulated the South African Ambassador on Nelson Mandela International Day, which is annually celebrated on the birthday of the politician.
