Poroshenko says Ukraine has been gradually finding ways to compensate losses from Russia's economic aggression / Photo from UNIAN
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says Ukrainian food exports to the European Union grew by 16% in January due to the launch of the free trade area, according to the presidential press service.
"We've started real integration into the European market. We've got first reassuring statistics how the free trade area works," he said.
"For instance, Ukrainian food exports to the European Union in January 2016 were 16% up on January 2015. Imports of new technologies from Europe grew by 22%," he added.
According to the president, the country has been gradually finding ways to compensate losses from Russia's economic aggression.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the free trade area between Ukraine and the EU became effective on January 1, 2016. The free trade regime was originally planned to start in November 2014, but later its launch was slated for the beginning of 2016. In 2015, Ukraine held 15 rounds of talks involving the EU and Russia, which constantly expressed its concerns in connection with the introduction of the said regime. The talks were aimed to prove the benefits of deeper economic ties between Ukraine and the EU.