From December 2018 to November 2019, Ukraine exported agricultural products to the European Union to the tune of EUR 7.3 billion and remains among TOP-3 exporters in this segment. The European Commission published the Monitoring report containing such data.

Compared to the same period of 2017-2018, agri-food exports from Ukraine increased by 36%.

Apart from Ukraine, the major exporters of agricultural products are the United States with EUR 12 billion, Brazil - EUR 11.7 billion and China – EUR 6.1 billion.

The report contains that Ukraine has once again entered TOP-3 producers of vegetables and fruits in Eastern Europe. It ranks third in the region for apple production and is among TOP-3 cherry and currant producers in the world. According to the data provided in The Most Important European Markets at a Glance in the FRUIT LOGISTICA European Statistics Handbook 2020, in the period from 2016 to 2019, the export from Ukraine of fresh fruits increased from 40,000 to 80,000 tons. The main items of Ukrainian fruit exports are apples and watermelons. In the vegetable segment, onion exports demonstrated an increase (from 14,000 to 20,000 tons).

Commenting on these figures, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba noted that Ukraine has long maintained a positive trend of growth of exports to the EU as a whole, with the export of agricultural and food products demonstrating most of the growth dynamics. "Our EU partners state in their reports that, as compared to the global fresh produce market, where Ukraine is just beginning to build its reputation, processed fruits and vegetables have long been an advantage of the country around the world," he stressed. "Among food exports, we sell not only cereals or vegetables and fruits. The share of value-added products is growing. We can safely say that Ukraine is among the countries that already feed the EU," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

According to the data of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, for 10 months of 2019, among the foods that showed the highest growth in this category of goods exported to the EU were cabbage (+ 2001.9%), pork and poultry fat (+ 409%), barley (+ 204.8% ), oats (+ 125.5%), eggs (+ 229.8%), soybean oil (+ 165.8%), edible roots (+ 115.8%).

Among the higher value added products are shellfish (frozen, smoked, etc. - + 389.5%); jams, jellies, marmalades (+ 226%); dairy products (butter, cream, yoghurts, condensed milk, etc. + 203.3%); extracts, essences, concentrates of coffee, tea, chicory (+ 377.5%). There increased exports of butter and oils (+ 67.8%); finished grain products (flakes, + 65%); cereals (+ 37.3%); bakery and confectionery (+ 26.7%); pasta (+ 14.68%), cooked vegetables (canned food without vinegar, + 65%), sugar (+ 41.6%), honey (+ 24.3%). Among other categories, exports of flowers grew (+ 86.9%).

"I was in Kharkiv on a visit yesterday. We have high performance in trade with the European Union and a good growth trend there," Dmytro Kuleba said, citing figures. The trade turnover of Kharkiv region with the countries of the European Union for the first 11 months of 2019 amounted to USD 802.4 million which is a 2% increase. The region's exports to the EU grew by 5.2%. The EU countries account for 30% of Kharkiv region's exports. The region is among TOP-5 most active users of the Export Promotion Office (EPO), whose objective is to provide education for exporters, consulting on various export issues, search for partners. Of the more than 3,500 exporting entrepreneurs and more than 1,600 enterprises applying for the service by the EPO in 2019, 6% are from Kharkiv and Kharkiv region.

"Therefore, anyone who wants finds opportunities to enter the EU markets, anyone who doesn't want to - tells tales that "nobody there is waiting for us with our products." Statistics show a constant positive trend and demonstrates one thing: our products are in high demand, while it is beneficial to export to the EU," Dmytro Kuleba emphasized.

Background

From January to November 2019, trade turnover between Ukraine and the European Union totaled USD 42 billion. The European market is a key market for Ukrainian exports. Exports to the EU increase annually: + 4.4% in the first 11 months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, and amounted to USD19.2 billion. It is 41.8% of total exports from Ukraine. Among the EU countries in which Ukraine exports the most are Poland (6.7% of exports to the tune of USD 3.1 billion), Italy - 4.9% with USD 2.2 billion, Germany - 4.9% with USD 2.2 billion.