Ukrainian exports in 2019 grow due to record shipments of agricultural products

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) says exports from Ukraine in 2019 rose by 6.4% due to record shipments of agricultural products abroad, despite price deterioration for Ukrainian exporters.

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"High grain yields in 2018-2019 ensured record supplies of certain groups of commodities (grain and oilseeds, sunflower oil, and oilcake), which supported the dynamic growth of food exports," reads the NBU's January 2020 Inflation Report.

The slowdown in the fourth quarter of 2019 was due to the fact that the yield of maize, although it was a significant one, remained at the level of 2018.

At the same time, China's increased demand for food products was an additional factor for boosting the exports amid a China-U.S. trade dispute.

"As a result, for the first time in history, China has become Ukraine's largest trade partner, outrunning Russia, Germany and Poland," the report said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian agribusinesses exported 30 million tonnes of grain in July-December 2019, which was 30.5% up year-over-year.

As of February 7, 2020, Ukrainian farmers exported 37.14 million tonnes of grain from the beginning of the current marketing year (July 2019 – June 2020).

Ukraine in 2019 harvested 75.1 million tonnes of grain, which was 4 million tonnes up on the figure reported in 2018. In particular, Ukrainian farmers gathered 28.3 million tonnes of wheat (15% up) and 35.8 million tonnes of maize for grain (0.1% up).

Ukraine is expected to export 54 million tonnes of last year's grain.