Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Ukraine increased coal imports by 2.4 times in first 11 months of 2025

In January-November 2025, Ukraine increased imports of coal and anthracite (UKTZED code 2701) by 2.4 times (by 2 million 415.314 thousand tons) compared to the same period last year, to 4 million 134.636 thousand tons.

According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, coal imports amounted to $929.485 million in the first eleven months of this year, which is 2.4 times ($546.653 million) more than in January-November 2024.

Coal imports from the US amounted to $374.498 million (40.29%), Australia – $281.793 million (30.32%), Poland – $90.872 million (9.78%), and other countries – $182.322 million (19.62%).

As reported, Ukraine increased coal imports by 2.7 times (by 1 million 145,951 thousand tons) in 2024 compared to 2023, to 1 million 812,592 thousand tons. In monetary terms, it imported $402.219 million worth of coal, which is 2.2 times more than the previous year ($185.378 million).

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Ukraine’s ferrous metal exports rose to $3 bln

In January-November of this year, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 3.72% compared to the same period last year, to $2 billion 979.392 million.

According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Friday, ferrous metals accounted for 8.08% of total export revenues during this period, compared to 7.48% in January-October 2024.

In November, export revenues amounted to $274.028 million, compared to $312.781 million in the previous month.

At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 12.6% to $1 billion 542.449 million in January-November 2025. In November, products worth $107.877 million were imported.

In addition, in January-November 2025, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 1.96% to $853.934 million. In November, exports amounted to $79.789 million.

Imports of metal products during this period increased by 21.4% to $1 billion 166.113 million. In November, $119.551 million worth of these products were imported.

As reported, in 2024, Ukrainian metal companies increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 16.9% compared to the previous year, to $3 billion 96.343 million. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 13.1% over the past year, to $1 billion 478.814 million.

In 2023, Ukraine reduced its revenues from ferrous metal exports by 41.6% compared to 2022, to $2 billion 647.72 million. Ferrous metals accounted for 7.3% of total revenues from goods exports during this period, while in 2022, the share was 10.3%. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 37% in 2023, to $1 billion 307.05 million.

In addition, in 2023, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 16.6% compared to 2022, to $877.92 million. At the same time, imports of metal products increased by 40.3%, to $902.57 million.

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Exports of Ukrainian dairy products rose by 13% in November

Total foreign trade in dairy products in November amounted to $54.7 million, up 3.3% from October ($53 million), according to the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA).

The industry association noted that export volumes in November continued to grow for the second month in a row and amounted to $23.84 million, adding 12.7% compared to October ($21.16 million) and 15.4% compared to September ($20.7 million).

At the same time, the value structure of exports in November 2025 was as follows: condensed milk and cream – 37%, cheese – 25%, butter – 21%. The value structure of exports in November 2025 compared to November 2024 changed slightly: the share of milk and condensed cream increased (from 30% to 37%) against the backdrop of a decrease in the share of cheese (from 32% to 25%).

Imports in November amounted to $30.9 million, down 2.9% from October ($31.8 million) and 2.2% from September ($31.6 million). In November 2025 compared to November 2024, the value structure of imports did not change significantly, in particular, the share of all types of cheese remained at about 84%.

The export-import balance in November was negative (-$7.0 million), as it was in October (-$10.6 million) and September (-$10.9 million), the association noted.

The ratio of exports to imports was 0.77 in November, 0.67 in October, and 0.65 in September.

Imports of dairy products in November this year exceeded exports by 1.3 times, the SMU summarized.

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Imports of tomatoes and cucumbers increased in January-October 2025

In January-October 2025, Ukraine increased imports of tomatoes by 4.3% to 81.82 thousand tons and cucumbers by 13.6% to 109.56 thousand tons compared to the same period last year, according to the State Customs Service.

According to the published statistics, in monetary terms, tomato imports increased by 18.2% to $16.92 million during the reporting period, and cucumber imports increased by 30% to $23.39 million.

The main imports of tomatoes at this time came from Turkey (64.3% of all supplies), Poland (11.7%), and the Netherlands (11.18%). The top three suppliers of cucumbers to Ukraine were Turkey (88.2%), Spain (3.7%), and Finland (2%).

A year ago, the main suppliers of tomatoes to Ukraine in January-October were Turkey (73.6%), Poland (12.3%), and Morocco (5.9%), while the main suppliers of cucumbers were Turkey (85.2%), Poland (4%), and the Netherlands (3.1%).

Tomato exports in January-October this year amounted to 393 tons, compared to 301 tons a year ago. This year, they were purchased by Moldova (60.6%), Poland (36.4%), and Singapore (0.8%), while last year they were purchased by Moldova (87.4%), Lithuania (7.6%), and Malaysia (1%).

In the first 10 months of 2025, 2.44 thousand tons of Ukrainian cucumbers were supplied to foreign markets, compared to 1.01 thousand tons in the same period last year. They were most actively purchased by Poland (52.3%), Estonia (37.5%), and Moldova (8%). A year ago, the top three were the same, but their shares in the procurement structure differed: Estonia accounted for 54.7% of supplies, Poland for 26.3%, and Moldova for 10.5%.

As reported, in July 2025, Ukraine introduced anti-dumping duties on imports of fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from Turkey at 20.1% and 26.9%, respectively, for a period of five years. These measures were applied to protect Ukrainian producers from dumped imports, which caused damage to domestic greenhouse farms.

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Potato imports to Ukraine increased fivefold in 10 months

Ukraine imported 123,140 tons of potatoes in January-October 2025, which is 5.1 times more than in the same period last year, according to the State Customs Service.
According to published statistics, in monetary terms, potato imports increased 4.8 times, to $66.086 million, compared to $13.69 million a year ago. The main imports came from Poland (36.9% of supplies in monetary terms), Egypt (13.7%), and the Netherlands (11.6%).
At the same time, potato exports from Ukraine decreased by 13.4% to 2.14 thousand tons during the reporting period, while in monetary terms, sales were more profitable and brought in 2.4% ($521 thousand) more revenue than last year. The main buyers of Ukrainian potatoes were Moldova (58.5% of all exports), Azerbaijan (38.6%), and Singapore (0.6%).
In October 2025, Ukraine imported 359 tons of potatoes, which is 11.4 times (4,090 tons) less than in the same period last year, while exports increased 4.6 times (269 tons).
As reported, Ukraine had a poor potato harvest in the 2024 season due to drought, extremely high temperatures, and a shortage of seed material.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky noted in a podcast by the Center for Economic Strategies that in 2025, the vegetable harvest in Ukraine will be sufficient and even greater than last year, so no shortage is expected in this sector.

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Zinc imports fell by 8%, exports tripled

Imports of zinc and zinc products to Ukraine in January-October 2025 decreased by 8% to $45.52 million, while exports tripled to $1.14 million.

In October, imports amounted to $4.3 million, exports — $0.19 million.

In 2024, zinc imports increased by 27.5% to $58.61 million, and exports increased 3.4 times to $0.56 million.

Pure metallic zinc is used to recover precious metals, protect steel from corrosion, and for other purposes.

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