According to Experts.news, China’s foreign trade in goods reached 45.47 trillion yuan in 2025, up 3.8% from the previous year, said Ma Shengkun, China’s ambassador to Ukraine.
“In 2025, the total volume of China’s imports and exports of goods reached 45.47 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.8% year-over-year.
Imports totaled a record 18.48 trillion yuan,” the diplomat wrote in his column on the Interfax-Ukraine website.
According to him, China has remained the world’s second-largest import market for the 17th consecutive year and is the main trading partner for more than 160 countries and regions.
The ambassador also noted that in 2025, China’s imports from the least developed countries increased by 9%, while imports from Asia rose by 3.9%, from Latin America by 4.9%, and from Africa by 6%.
Ma Shengkun highlighted the growth of the high-tech segment of Chinese exports. According to the data he cited, exports of high-tech products reached 5.25 trillion yuan in 2025, an increase of 13.2%.
In particular, total exports of electric vehicles, photovoltaic products, and lithium batteries—referred to in China as the “new trio” of export goods—rose by 27.1%.
As previously reported, China remains Ukraine’s largest trading partner. According to a study by the Experts Club information and analytical center, Ukraine’s trade turnover with China reached $14.68 billion in the first half of 2026, including $13.9 billion in imports of Chinese goods and $778.4 million in exports of Ukrainian goods to China. China accounted for 21.9% of Ukraine’s total trade with its 50 largest trading partners.
According to the latest data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in January–August 2026, China retained its top position among suppliers of goods to Ukraine, with imports exceeding $19.6 billion. Ukraine’s total imports during this period amounted to nearly $66.3 billion, while exports totaled over $26.6 billion.
A joint study by Experts Club and Active Group published on September 18 also noted that China remains Ukraine’s largest trading partner; however, Ukrainian exports to the Chinese market lag significantly behind imports from China.
In January–August 2026, Ukraine increased its imports of tin and tin products 2.4-fold compared to the same period last year, reaching $6.352 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, imports of tin and tin products in August totaled $830,000.
Exports of tin and tin products in January–August 2026 totaled $740,000, and in August—$45,000, compared to $104,000 in January–August 2025.
As previously reported, Ukraine increased its imports of tin and tin products by 36.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching $4.352 million. Exports of tin and tin products totaled $241,000, compared to $389,000 for the 12 months of 2024.
Tin is used primarily as a safe, non-toxic, corrosion-resistant coating, either in its pure form or in alloys with other metals. The main industrial applications of tin are in tinplate (tinned iron) for the manufacture of food packaging, in solders for electronics, in plumbing pipes, in bearing alloys, and in coatings made of tin and its alloys. The most important tin alloy is bronze (with copper).
In January–August 2026, Ukraine reduced imports of zinc and zinc products by 35% compared to the same period last year, down to $24.126 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, imports of zinc and zinc products in August totaled $3.306 million.
Zinc exports for the eight-month period totaled $1,108 million; in August, they amounted to $189,000, compared to $888,000 in January–August 2025.
As previously reported, Ukraine reduced its imports of zinc and zinc products by 9.6% in 2025 compared to 2024, down to $52.982 million. Zinc exports last year reached $1.234 million, whereas in 2024 they totaled $563,000.
Pure metallic zinc is used to recover precious metals, protect steel from corrosion, and for other purposes.
Yevgen Osipov, CEO of the agricultural holding “Kernel,” anticipates—in a stress scenario—a 12-million-metric-ton decline in grain production in Ukraine next year due to a possible reduction in planted acreage by farmers, if no solution is found within the next six months to resume exports, according to a correspondent for the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“It is difficult to make such forecasts today. We hope that some solutions will be found in the next six months. If no practical solution is found, then, objectively speaking, the area under cultivation will be reduced. In such a stress scenario, we estimated this would result in a shortfall of 12 million metric tons of grain next year,” he said at the “Forbes Ukraine” Economic Resilience Forum in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to Osipov, with seaports closed, Ukraine will be able to export only about 20 million metric tons of the 50 million metric tons of agricultural products needed—that is, 40% of the required volume—so companies are having to pivot to other business models.
“Based on our own experience with the most recent export corridors, about 50% of the operations were inefficient; we need to find new ways. Because right now, for businesses, it’s a matter of building a new business model. In other words, the old business model doesn’t work there anymore. That’s why, for our part, we’re focusing on processing and exporting processed products,” Osipov noted.
According to him, under its new business model, “Kernel” is focusing on exporting smaller volumes of products with higher added value, while retaining the ability to purchase oilseeds from Ukrainian farmers, pay them, and export processed products.
Osipov also added that, due to security and logistical constraints as well as external factors, it is currently not realistic to expect that the Danube ports will be able to handle the same volume of shipments that Ukraine had in 2022–2023.
As previously reported, in its September report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its estimate for this year’s wheat production in Ukraine by 0.6 million metric tons compared to the August forecast—to 26 million metric tons—and its estimate for other grains (excluding wheat and corn) by 0.5 million metric tons, to 7.29 million metric tons, and maintained its corn production forecast at 31.8 million metric tons. Thus, the USDA estimates Ukraine’s total grain production this year at 65.09 million metric tons.
Electricity exports from Ukraine on September 14–20 decreased by 17.3% compared to the previous week, to 109.3 thousand MWh, while imports increased by 12.2%—to 18.6 thousand MWh.
“Overall, electricity sales were nearly six times higher than purchases,” the DIXI Group analytical center reported on Wednesday, citing data from Energy Map.
As the center noted, weather conditions had the greatest impact on electricity trade during the reporting period. A cloudy start to the week, combined with a gradual seasonal decline in solar power generation, reduced the daytime power surplus, and the largest decline in exports occurred during daylight hours. At the same time, comfortable temperatures, mostly without precipitation, did not create peak loads on the power grid. Industrial consumption remained low due to Russian attacks.
According to Energy Map, Hungary accounted for the largest share of last week’s exports—53.8 thousand MWh, or 49.2%. Moldova accounted for 36,2 thousand MWh (33.1%), Romania for 19,0 thousand MWh (17.4%), and Poland for 0,3 thousand MWh (0.3%).
Compared to the previous week, exports declined across all destinations: to Poland by 72% (due to insignificant supply volumes), to Romania by 28%, to Moldova by 22%, and to Hungary by 8%. Exports to Slovakia remained at zero.
Hungary also remained the main source of imports, accounting for 8,900 MWh (47.8%). Poland accounted for 5,900 MWh (31.4%), Romania for 3,800 MWh (20.6%), and Moldova for 0.04 thousand MWh (0.2%).
As previously reported, in August 2026, electricity imports to Ukraine increased by 5% compared to July—to 184,000 MWh—while exports jumped by 63.8% to 380,900 MWh, marking the highest monthly export volume since September 2025. As a result, Ukraine maintained its status as a net exporter for the second consecutive month: sales exceeded purchases by nearly double.
In the 2025–26 marketing year, rapeseed processing in Ukraine increased 2.7-fold, and rapeseed oil exports increased 2.5-fold compared to the previous marketing year. In total, 42% of the rapeseed harvest was processed domestically (last year this figure was 15%), which is an all-time record since the crop began to be grown in Ukraine. Foreign exchange earnings from rapeseed oil exports more than tripled, reaching $588 million.
This was reported by Dmytro Kysilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, citing data from the “Ukroliyaprom” association. He also noted that the share of domestic processing of the soybean harvest in the 2025–26 marketing year rose from 39% to 54.2% (also a historic record for processing). Despite a decline in the soybean harvest from 6.6 million metric tons to 4.8 million metric tons, foreign exchange earnings from exports of soybean oil and meal rose by 12.3%, to $1.02 billion.
Compared to the previous marketing year, the harvested areas for these crops changed insignificantly: rapeseed +15.7%, soybeans -3.9%. In total, the area planted with these crops increased from 3.25 million hectares to 3.37 million hectares.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, additional revenue to the state budget from export duties on soybeans and rapeseed amounted to 2.174 billion UAH for the marketing year, i.e., for the period from September 2025 to August 2026.
“These figures show that export duties on soybeans and rapeseed have been effective: the share of processing has increased—Ukrainian plants have seen higher utilization rates; the area under cultivation has expanded—farmers consider these crops profitable to grow; and the budget has received additional revenue from duties as well as from plant operations. Step by step, Ukraine is moving away from low-value commodity exports, increasing processing, foreign exchange earnings, and tax revenues, and developing new plants that offer decent wages for Ukrainians. “When Ukraine exports processed products rather than soybeans and rapeseed, the growth in foreign exchange revenue per metric ton of exports ranges from 30% to 50%,” noted Dmytro Kysilevsky.
On July 16, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the introduction of a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed. The duties took effect on September 4, 2025.
