Photo from UNIAN
Ukrainian Agrarian Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko says that Ukraine is considering the possibility of establishing a free trade zone with West African countries.
"In particular, we are considering the possibility of introducing a free trade area with West African countries. After all, the region hosts one of the strongest economies in sub-Saharan Africa – Nigeria. In addition, Ukrainian-made milk powder is sold on the markets of Nigeria, Niger, Guinea, Mali, and we can step up this cooperation. If there is a free trade area launched with ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States], Ukraine will be able to boost its exports by times," the minister told Ukrainian TV Channel 5, according to ministry's press service.
"The African continent is among the most promising ones in terms of development. Therefore, Ukraine is working to boost farm produce exports to that region. Ukraine's export dynamics in this direction is quite high: the exports skyrocketed by 24.3 times from 1996 to 2014," Pavlenko stressed.
African countries are constantly increasing imports of goods. "In this regard, shipments of food have good prospects for Ukraine," the minister said.
The lion's share of Ukrainian agricultural exports to African countries belongs to grains, particularly, wheat, maize, barley, sunflower and soybean oil, residues and waste from the food industry, condensed milk, as well as oilseeds.
In 2015, Ukraine significantly increased exports of value-added products: meat, cheese, yogurt, animal fat, processed vegetables, confectionery, drinking water, wine and tobacco.
"The largest trading partners of Ukrainian agricultural exporters are North African countries, with Egypt being the largest consumer of products originating from Ukraine. In future we plan to expand cooperation with all countries of the African continent," the minister said.