Agricultural exports of Ukraine are inferior to last year's figures

According to the State Customs Service, in January-November of this year, Ukraine exported agricultural food products worth $19.637 billion, which is 7% less than in the corresponding period of 2022.

According to Mykola Pugachev, deputy director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics, the agricultural and food products maintain a dominant position in the total export of Ukraine - now its share is 60%. Traditionally, the basis of Ukrainian agricultural exports is grain and oil crops, oil, food industry residues, meat and by-products, which account for 87% of its value.

As Mykola Pugachev reminded, the current year presented many new challenges to Ukrainian agricultural exporters. Thus, in addition to the war and its negative consequences, bans and restrictions on the import of certain types of products from Ukraine were added, which are still being continued by Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Since the beginning of November, the movement of trucks on the Polish-Ukrainian border has been blocked through the largest checkpoints, which has made it impossible to export and transit.

In addition, after the termination of the "grain initiative" in July, Ukraine ensures the functioning of the temporary sea corridor with its own resources, the capacities of which are too small, not meeting real needs.

"Existing obstacles lead not only to a general reduction of income for Ukrainian industry exporters, but actually make any measures of foreign economic activity ineffective and poorly forecasted," the expert emphasized.

In general, he added, according to the forecast estimates of scientists of the Institute of Agrarian Economics, in 2023 domestic agro-food exports are expected to be at the level of last year's indicators.

"However, if the current situation does not improve, in 2024 it will become objectively more difficult to even preserve its existing volumes," concluded M. Pugachev.