In 2023, the share of agri-food exports in Ukraine's total exports increased to 62%, which is the highest figure for the entire period of the country's independence. This was reported by Mykola Pugachev, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics and Academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences.
According to him, the results of 2023 indicate the achievement of record volumes of exports of frozen berries and other fruits, which amounted to 87 thousand tons. In total, last year, Ukraine exported agricultural products worth $22.1 billion. Although this is 21% less than the record figure of 2021, it still remains the fifth since Ukraine's independence.
Scientists at the Institute of Agrarian Economics point to a decrease in export revenue in all major geographic regions, such as the European Union, Asia, and Africa.
Despite Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the key to maintaining stability in foreign agricultural supplies was maintaining a focus on European Union markets. The EU's share of Ukrainian agricultural exports set a new record, accounting for 57% of all Ukrainian agricultural exports.
Asia, which lost its position as the main importer of Ukrainian agricultural products a year ago, retained second place with a share of 29.9%. The value of exports to Asian countries amounted to $6.6 billion. African countries received products worth $1.6 billion, securing a share of 7.2% of Ukrainian agricultural exports.
Mykola Pugachev noted that the pronounced European direction of Ukrainian exports of agricultural products and food continues to support the leadership of the European Union countries among the main consumers of Ukrainian food products in the world.
In 2023, Romania topped the ranking of the largest importers of Ukrainian agricultural products for the first time, purchasing them for $2.875 billion. China took second place in the ranking, increasing the volume of purchases of Ukrainian agricultural products by approximately 18% to $2.220 billion. Third place went to Turkey, which imported agricultural products for $1.994 billion.
Mykola Pugachev pointed out that the restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine introduced by Poland last spring and still in force have led not only to the country losing its status as the main buyer on the world market, but also to a reduction in the cost of imports by a third, to $1.797 billion.
In 2023, other major consumers of Ukrainian agricultural products will be:
- Spain ($1.765 billion)
- Netherlands ($1.274 billion)
- Egypt ($1.066 billion)
- Italy ($1.045 billion)
- Germany ($862 billion)
- Hungary ($471 million)
The most important products of Ukrainian agricultural exports traditionally remain grain crops, oils and fats, various oilseeds, residues of the food and processing industry, as well as meat and offal.
The global trend of decreasing world food prices also affected the income of Ukrainian exporters, as the meat, grain, and oil segments experienced a simultaneous growth in the quantitative volume of foreign sales and a decrease in foreign exchange earnings.
An important feature of 2023 was a significant increase in the volume of exports of Ukrainian sugar and confectionery products made from it. These areas of agricultural products as a whole accounted for 89% of the value of industry exports.
