Ukraine exports agricultural products worth over US$10 bln in H1

Exports of products of the Ukrainian agri-industrial complex in the first half of 2019 (H1) increased by 19% year-over year (y-o-y), amounting to US$10.2 billion.

"According to the results of the first half of 2019, exports of agricultural products from Ukraine amounted to US$10.2 billion, which is 19% more y-o-y," according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association.

At the same time, imports of agricultural products to Ukraine in H1 increased by 9% y-o-y and amounted to US$2.7 billion.

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"In total, the foreign trade balance of agri-food products in Ukraine amounted to US$7.5 billion, which indicates a significant predominance of exports of agri-food products over imports," experts said.

According to the association, in January-June of this year, the share of agricultural products in the structure of total exports of goods from Ukraine was 41.5% against 36.7% y-o-y. At the same time, the share of agricultural products in the overall structure of Ukrainian imports was 9.6%, which corresponds to the level of the same period last year.

The press service added exports of crop production increased the most in the period over review, namely by 32% y-o-y, to US$1.3 billion, thanks to an increase in corn supplies to foreign markets by 66%.

"Also, exports of ready-to-eat food products from Ukraine increased by 10%, or US$147 million. The main categories for building up this group of goods were the sunflower and soybean cattle cake, whose exports grew by 20%, or US$89.2 million, and doubled, or US$84.1 million, respectively," the press service said.

According to the association, Ukraine significantly increased its imports of finished products in the reporting period, by 8%, or US$83.7 million. At the same time, the main product categories were raw tobacco, bakery products, as well as dough products without yeast and couscous (groats). In addition, deliveries of crop products increased by 8% due to the import of onions, coffee, dates and exotic fruits. Imports of livestock products increased by 16% y-o-y due to purchases of frozen fish, cheese and fish fillets.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in 2018 Ukraine's foreign trade in agricultural products increased by $1.7 billion, to $24.3 billion. Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products reached a record $18.8 billion, while imports stood at $5.5 billion.