Ukraine slightly reduces agri-exports to EU in H1
Exports of Ukrainian agrarian products to European countries in January-June of 2018 amounted to $2.6 billion compared to $2.774 billion in the same period in 2017, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European integration Olha Trofimtseva has said.
"In the six months this year, agri-export to the EU countries amounted to $2.6 billion. Thus, the EU is still the second largest exporter region of our agri-food [Asian countries were first and African countries ranked third]. Total trade turnover in the agribusiness sector for this period amounted to $3.9 billion. That is, Ukraine sees a trade surplus," she wrote on Facebook on Monday.
According to the official, the Netherlands is a leading importer, its share in total exports to the EU is 16.1%. It is followed by Italy with 14.4%, Poland with 14.2%, Spain with 13.7%, Germany with 9.3%, France with 6.6%, Great Britain with 3%, Hungary with 2.9%, Belgium with 2.8%, and Portugal with 2.6%.
Cereals (maize, wheat, barley, etc.) account for the largest share in the structure of Ukrainian exports to the EU, being estimated at $975.2 million, she said. Then goes vegetable oil (sunflower, soybean, burdock or rapeseed) with $559.4 million, food industry residues and waste with $256.5 million, oilseeds with $224.7 million, meat and by-products of poultry with $127.1 million.
The largest increase in shipments to the EU in the first half of 2018 was registered in the export of apples, pears and quince (by $2.3 million, or 17.6 times); birds' eggs without shell and egg yolks (by $6.9 million, or 16.6 times); ethyl alcohol (by $1.9 million, or 10.5 times); fresh, boiled or frozen vegetables (by $2.4 million, or 7.6 times); dried beans and other leguminous vegetables (by $9.3 million, or 2.8 times); meat and by-products of poultry (by $69.9 million, or 2.2 times). Other groups of farm produce also demonstrated growth: juices by $11 million, or 89.5%; nuts by $16.7 million, or 83.6%; chocolate and other products with cocoa by $7.5 million, or 66.7%; creamery butter by $2.3 million, or 42.8%.
Imports from the EU countries over the period under review amounted to $1.29 billion, Trofimtseva said.
"We mainly imported various miscellaneous products (food products that are not included in the groups, extracts and concentrates from coffee, tea, sauces, etc.) from the EU to the tune of $135.7 million, animal feeds worth $80.4 million, maize worth $80.3 million, chocolate and products from cocoa beans (cocoa butter, cocoa powder, cocoa paste) worth $79.1 million, oilseeds (mainly sunflower seeds) worth $75.4 million, tobacco and its products worth $73.1 million, meat and offal (poultry, lard, by-products of cattle and other animals) worth $64.3 million," Trofimtseva added.
As reported, agri-exports from Ukraine to the EU amounted to $5.8 billion in 2017, which was 37.1% up on 2016.