REUTERS
Further increase in agri-food exports is expected by year-end.
Ukraine in January-November 2019 boosted exports of agricultural products to a record high of US$20.2 billion.
"According to operational statistics, Ukraine in the first 11 months of 2019 exported agricultural products worth US$20.2 billion. This has already (!) exceeded the figure reported for the whole of 2018, when agri-food exports stood at a record high of US$18.8. billion," the press service of the National Scientific Center Institute of Agrarian Economy said on December 18, referring to its deputy director Mykola Pugachov.
Noteworthy, revenues from the country's agri-food exports in January-November 2018 were estimated at US$17.02 billion, which was 18.6% down from the figure reported over the same period in 2019, according to data provided by the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture.
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According to Pugachov, a historic record of Ukrainian agri-food shipments to the EU has also been updated. While in 2008, they were estimated at US$6.3 billion, they reached US$6.8 billion in January-November 2019.
Ukrainian exporters receive the largest revenue from the exports of grains (US$8.6 billion), oilseeds (US$2.3 billion), vegetable oil (US$4.2 billion), residues and waste products of the food industry (US$1.4 billion), and meat products (US$0.7 billion).
The expert expects a further increase in agri-food exports by the end of the year.
"As the calendar year is not over yet, all these indicators will rise, forming the final results of national agri-food exports, which will become a new benchmark for the industry," he added.
As reported by UNIAN, In 2018, Ukraine's foreign trade in agricultural products increased by US$1.7 billion, to US$24.3 billion. Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products reached a record US$18.8 billion, while imports stood at US$5.5 billion.