“The year 2015 has become the year of serious work to develop dialogue and intensify trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China. Today it is obvious, that in one year we have reached significant results in the opening of large and promising Chinese market,” stressed Oleksii Pavlenko, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

The Minister reported that the trade turnover for the previous year amounted to $1.3 billion between the two countries. This indicator for 2014 accounted for only $932 million. We have achieved such figures through export.  For 12 months of 2015, the Ukrainian export has amounted to $1.2 billion.  The amount has practically doubled compared to the same period of the previous year. At the same time, according to the Minister, the import has declined almost two times and amounted to $94 million in 2015 compared to $165 million in 2014.

Oleksii Pavlenko underlined that the increasing of Ukrainian food export to the People’s Republic of China was caused by expanded supplies of products of plant origin. In particular, this implies cereals ($678 million) and oil ($534 million), the items where the volumes of export have increased by 83,5% and 46,6% accordingly.

“As of July-December of 2015/2016 marketing year, Ukraine has become the largest exporter of corn to China, having overtaken the USA. In particular, we have managed to export 3,85 million tons of crop which amounted to 81% of the total volume of export. Moreover, recently, China has contracted approximately 1,2 million tons of corn with supplies in the first quarter of the current year. The main volume of corn imported by China will be supplied from Ukraine again,” Oleksii Pavlenko noted.

Among the other commodity groups exported from Ukraine to China, the Minister mentioned products of flour and cereal industry ($17 million), cocoa beans and chocolate ($3 million), confectionary products ($2 million), residues and wastes of food industry ($1,6 million), yogurts and cheeses ($934 thousand) etc.

As regards the imports, the main items of import are residues and wastes of food industry ($13 thousand), tobacco and tobacco products ($13 million), coffee, tea, maté and spices ($10 million), shellac, natural gums and resins ($8 million), vegetables, roots and plants ($6 million).

“Due to such trade amounts, China is ranked the 1^st among the trade partners of Ukraine. Given the fact that China is practically the largest market in the world in terms of agricultural products consumption, tending to further growth, it is safe to say that we have opted for the right direction,” Oleksii Pavlenko affirmed.