Ukraine's exports grew by 13.4%: Ministry of Economy told what was exported and where
Kyiv • UNN
In 2024, Ukraine's exports reached $41.043 billion, up 13.4% from 2023. Sea transport exported 87.2 million tons compared to 54.8 million tons last year.
In 2024, Ukraine's exports reached $41.043 billion, up 13.4% from 2023. Sea transport exported 87.2 million tons compared to 54.8 million tons last year, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko said on social media, UNN writes.
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"Exports from Ukraine increased by at least 13.4% in 2024. As of December 26, Ukraine exported goods worth $41.043 billion. In 2023, exports amounted to only $36.1 billion," Svyrydenko said.
According to her, the result is primarily due to the normalization of the work of Ukrainian seaports. "As of today, we have exported 87.2 million tons by sea, and 54.8 million tons in 2023. In total, exports have already reached 129.2 million tons by weight, compared to 100.3 million tons in 2023. This is an increase of 28.8%," she said.
However, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that the transportation of goods has changed not only in quantity but also in quality. "We exported significantly less by road than last year - 7.6 million tons against 12 million tons last year," she said.
At the same time, according to the company, the value of cargo transported by trucks was higher - $14.5 billion against 13.9 last year.
"That is why it is so important to develop road connections with the EU. Within the framework of the Ukraine Facility, the Border Infrastructure Development Strategy and the Transport Strategy have already been approved," the Minister of Economy said.
At the same time, she said, this year was also memorable for the fact that "we worked very hard with our neighbors to remove unjustified blockades at the border." "Thanks to a dialogue involving Polish and Ukrainian associations, we managed to ease tensions and return to a more familiar format of dialogue on trade development with neighboring countries and the EU as a whole," Svyrydenko said.
"The development of trade with the EU is extremely important. First, despite all the difficulties at the land border with the EU, this year we have already exported $1.2 billion more to the EU than in 2023 ($24.5 billion versus $23.3 billion in 2023). This is 59% of our exports. Also, 49.8% of all imports to Ukraine are goods from the EU. And 73% of imports are imported to Ukraine by road, i.e. across the border with the EU," she said.
Thus, the official noted, more than half of Ukraine's trade is regulated by the Association Agreement with the EU.
"As for the implementation of the Agreement, in November this year Ukraine sent an official request to the EU to apply the internal market regime for roaming services. This means full legal integration into the EU's internal market even before the opening of accession negotiations under the relevant section. By the way, we have also updated the free trade agreement with the EFTA countries, and next year our agricultural exporters will have better access to the markets of all four countries," she said.
"And in the first months of next year, we will try to find a solution to access the EU market for sensitive agricultural products. There are currently only 7 of them (corn, cereals, bran, honey, sugar, eggs, and poultry). The rest of the goods are exported to the EU without restrictions. Our task for 2025 is to maintain the current level of access to the EU markets and determine the parameters of its further liberalization. This is an incredibly delicate and unique task," Svyrydenko said.
Outside of the EU, she said, Ukraine's key trade partners are China ($2.3 billion), Turkey ($2.1 billion), Egypt ($1.6 billion), India ($986 million), Moldova ($935 million), and the United States ($935 million).
"Traditionally, our export leaders are commodities - corn ($4.9 billion), wheat ($3.68 billion), iron ore ($2.75 billion), and soybeans ($1.29 billion). However, the largest export commodity is still processed food - sunflower oil - $5.073 billion," the Vice Prime Minister said.
She also added that this year Ukraine exported soybean oil for $311 million, rapeseed oil for $238 million, sunflower meal for $1.006 billion, and soybean meal for $311 million.
"In agricultural processing, we are also pleased with the performance of sugar producers - 724 thousand tons of exports worth $408 million and poultry producers - 440 thousand tons worth $945 million. This is despite the fact that the EU has imposed quite strict restrictions on the export of these products compared to last year. We are now global exporters of these products and this is good news," the official said.
According to her, metallurgical exports are reviving. "We exported $927.5 million worth of semi-finished iron products, $802 million worth of hot-rolled steel, $500 million worth of pig iron, and $577 million worth of pipes. The latter were particularly helped by the duty exemption granted by the US. We are working to maintain this exemption in the future," Svyrydenko emphasized.
"And from the perspective of production development in Ukraine, the figures for exports of cable products ($1.26 billion) and furniture manufacturers (group 9403 - $460.6 million) are always encouraging," she said.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us, so we are gearing up for an active next year," the Minister of Economy summarized.
