Export of Ukrainian agricultural foods to the countries of the European Union in 2021 grew in monetary terms by 33% compared to 2020, to $8.3 billion due to an increase in the supply of agricultural products to foreign markets and its rise in price, according to a posting on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) on Wednesday.
According to UCAB, the peak months for the export of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU were December ($1 billion), October ($0.98 billion) and November ($0.97 billion). The lowest export rates were recorded in July ($0.48 billion), April ($0.49 billion) and March ($0.5 billion).
In 2021, nine quotas for duty-free exports to the EU have also been fully used, namely for honey, cereals, flour, starch, processed starch, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, chicken eggs, poultry meat (parts), and processed cereal products.
“Compared to 2020, the situation has changed with the use of quotas for the supply of sugar and corn to the EU, or rather with their incomplete use. As for sugar, last year the quota was used by 87% due to a shortage in the domestic market of this product. At the same time, the quota for corn was used by only 5% due to increased demand for this type of grain and the availability of more attractive export channels for Ukrainian farmers,” UCAB said, quoting its analyst Svitlana Lytvyn.
In addition, UCAB said that as of January 18, 2022, Ukraine has fully used the first-quarter quotas for the export of eggs and poultry meat to the EU, as well as the annual quota for the export of honey.
As reported, Ukraine in 2020, within the framework of a free trade area (FTA) agreement with the EU, fully used 11 quotas for duty-free export of agricultural products, while in 2019 there were 12 of them.
Ukraine has sufficient resources and capabilities to launch the first hydrogen projects and start exporting hydrogen to Germany by 2024.
President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council Oleksandr Repkin said this in a comment to the Green Deal portal, sharing the details of a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Annalena Baerbock is responsible for the entire German climate dialogue in the foreign arena, so the topic of hydrogen is very important for her. At the meeting, we told her that at this stage Ukraine has enough resources and opportunities to launch the first and start exporting hydrogen to Germany projects by 2024,” he said.
Repkin specified that hydrogen will be transported in a mixture with natural gas through the existing gas transmission system.
“We are already ready to transport 10% concentration of hydrogen mixed with natural gas via the GTS. By 2024, subject to modernization, the percentage may be higher. The main thing is to choose an entry point, a place where you can connect to the GTS, and then it will be possible to transport the mixture,” he said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also spoke about the plans to start exporting “green” hydrogen to Germany from 2024, but with a caveat “according to the optimistic scenario.”
At the meeting with the head of German diplomacy on January 17, Kuleba once again spoke about Ukraine’s plans to become a key supplier of “green” hydrogen to the EU.
“Ukraine is actively developing renewable energy, in particular, it plans to become a key supplier of “green” hydrogen to the EU. We are strengthening energy partnership with Germany and developing a number of major projects in the production and transportation of “green” hydrogen,” the foreign minister said.
Metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in 2021 increased revenues from the export of ferrous metals by 81.4% compared to 2020, to $13.951 billion.
According to the updated statistics released by the State Customs Service on Friday, ferrous metals accounted for 20.49% of total merchandise export earnings over this period, compared to 15.63% in 2020.
In December, proceeds from the export of ferrous metals amounted to $1.34 billion.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of ferrous metals by 48.8% in 2021, to $1.547 billion. In December, this figure was $140.660 million.
In addition, in 2021, Ukraine increased the export of metal products by 43%, to $1.293 billion. In December, metal products for $128.729 million were delivered.
Imports of metal products over the past year grew by 28%, to $1.126 billion. In December, metal products for $116.609 million were imported.
As reported, Ukrainian steel enterprises in 2020 reduced revenues from the export of ferrous metals by 12% compared to the previous year, to $7.69 billion. At the same time, Ukraine in 2020 reduced imports of ferrous metals by 17%, to $1.04 billion.
In addition, Ukraine in 2020 reduced the export of metal products by 13.2%, to $904.533 million. Over the year, imports of metal products fell by 20%, to $879.687 million.
Ukraine in 2021 increased the export of rapeseeds in monetary terms by 67.8% compared to 2020 – to $1.69 billion, but reduced soybeans by 12%, to $610 million, according to the generalized statistics posted on the website of the State Customs Service.
Total exports of products from group No. 12 of the Ukrainian classification of goods for foreign economic activity “Seeds and fruits of oil plants; other seeds, fruits and grains; technical or medicinal plants; straw and fodder” last year increased by 32.2% compared to 2020 – to $2.44 billion.
During this period, Ukraine also exported flax seeds for $17.4 million (an increase of 2.3 times), oilseeds for sowing for $14.8 million (down 16.6%), oilseeds for medicine and perfumery for $20.6 million (up 12.3%).
The largest part of the revenue in this group of goods was generated by the export of rapeseeds (69.3%) and soybeans (25%).
In 2021, Ukraine increased imports of goods from group No. 12 by 16% compared to 2020 – up to $450 million. In particular, imports of sunflower seeds amounted to $244 million (down 40%), rapeseeds – $71.2 million (growth by 2 times), oil seeds for sowing – $58.9 million (up 7.6%), peanuts – $41.1 million (up 5.6%).
Thus, over the past year, Ukraine’s surplus from trade in goods of group No. 12 amounted to $1.99 billion, which is 36.5% more than in 2020.
Trade in these goods in 2021 became the sixth direction for Ukraine in terms of foreign exchange earnings after trading in ferrous metals (total sales of $13.96 billion), grains ($12.35 billion), ore ($7.13 billion), vegetable oils and fats and those of animal origin ($7.05 billion), electrical equipment and machinery ($3.09 billion).
Ukraine has introduced a quota for the export of precious metal scrap and waste for 2022 in the amount of 2 tonnes (in terms of the mass of pure precious metal).
The corresponding resolution was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting on Wednesday.
As reported, since 2013, Ukraine has banned (introduced zero quotas) on the export of gold and silver in raw or semi-processed form or in powder form. In addition, a zero quota was set for the export of precious metal scrap and waste. For 2022, the ban on the export of gold and silver (except for bank metals) in the form of a zero quota has been retained.
At the same time, in 2012, the export quota for unprocessed silver was 1,000 kg, gold – 80 kg, waste and scrap of precious metals – 500 kg.
