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Leszek Balcerowicz, the president's representative in the Cabinet of Ministers and the co-chair of the group of strategic advisors on reform support in Ukraine, says Ukraine's focus should be on the markets of western countries, and those of Turkey and China in the east.
"The most important partners are the West, Turkey and China," Balcerowicz said during the presentation of the government's action plan for 2016.
Balcerowicz also stressed the importance of trade diversification, particularly amid the trade embargo introduced by Russia against Ukraine.
Read alsoDeficit of Ukraine's foreign trade in goods soars by almost 11 times in Q1 As UNIAN reported earlier, the deficit of Ukraine's balance of foreign trade in January-March 2016 amounted to $89.1 million against a $660 million deficit in the same period last year. According to the State Statistics Service, imports of goods and services in Ukraine, excluding services provided on a tolling basis, decreased by 9.1%, to $9.777 billion. Exports of goods and services from Ukraine declined by 15.1%, to $9.688 billion.
Exports of goods to the EU shrank by 2.7% year-over-year, to $3.197 billion, accounting for 41.4% of total exports. Imports of goods from EU countries in a given period fell by 1.2%, to $3.861 billion, accounting for 44.5% of total imports.
Exports of goods to the Russian Federation decreased by 38.3%, to $649.9 million, while imports declined by 45.6%, to $1.021 billion.