REUTERS
Fruit and berry imports to Ukraine in January-March 2018 were estimated at $143 million.
Ukrainian farmers in January-March 2018 (the first quarter/Q1 2018) boosted fruit and berry exports by 68% year-over-year (y-o-y), to US$57 million.
"The leaders in the commodity structure of domestic products exports this year were walnuts ($42 million), frozen berries ($10 million), as well as apples and pears ($5 million)," the press service of the Ukrainian association of gardening and small fruit growing, Ukrsadprom, said.
As reported, exports of frozen berries alone decreased both volume and revenue-wise among said product groups. Walnut exports over the period under review increased from 7,000 to 13,000 tonnes, while those of apples and pears soared from 6,000 to 14,000 tonnes.
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"At the same time, fruit and berry imports to Ukraine in January-March 2018 stood at $143 million, mainly due exotic fruit (citrus fruit, bananas, etc.) If we consider only fruits and berries traditional for Ukraine, the total positive balance of foreign trade is estimated at $40 million. We should also note a positive balance in pome fruit trade, which has been negative in recent years," the press service said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, total revenue from exports of Ukrainian agrarian products in 2017 rose by 16.3% against 2016, to over $17.9 billion. The major staples of Ukrainian agri-exports in 2017 were grain crops, accounting for 36.2% of the export structure, vegetable oils (25.1%), and oilseeds (11.3%.).
Ukraine's foreign trade turnover of agricultural complex products in January-February 2018 was estimated at US$3.7 billion, including $2.8 billion in agrarian and food products exports.
Exports of Ukrainian products to the European Union over the period soared by 28.1%, or by $224.7 million, reaching $1.025 billion. Thus, for the time being, the EU states account for 36.5% of the country's agricultural exports.