Ukraine exported products worth a total of $20.1 billion to the European Union in 2018, making the union Ukraine’s biggest trading partner in terms of exports, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry announced on Feb. 18.
Total exports from Ukraine to the EU increased by 15 percent, or by $2.5 billion compared to 2017.
Most of the exported products (30.4 percent) were from the agriculture and food sectors. Exports of these products — grains, corn, sunflower seeds and oil, as well as animal fat — brought Ukraine around $6 billion.
The metals sector secured 22 percent of Ukraine’s exports to the EU, and $3 billion in earnings. Ukraine exported iron ore and semi-finished steel products, the Economy Ministry said.
The next biggest exporting sectors were mechanical engineering (15.2 percent); mineral products (13.4 percent); and wood (5.7 percent).
Most of Ukraine’s export in the EU goes to Poland — 20 percent, or $3.3 billion. Italy and Germany are next: in 2018, they spent $3.2 billion and $2.2 billion on Ukrainian products.
Judging by the Economy Ministry report on exports for 11 months of 2018, published in January, the EU became Ukraine’s biggest trade partner in 2018. About 43 percent of the country’s exports got to the EU. That leaves Russia second, with almost 8 percent of Ukraine’s exports. Turkey, India, and China are next, each with about 5 percent.
Ukraine’s total exports last year were worth about $47 billion.
Ukraine signed a political and trade Association Agreement with the EU on Sept. 1, 2017. A key feature of the agreement is the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, which boosted Ukraine’s exports to the EU to $17.6 billion in 2017 and $20.1 in 2018.
However, at the country level, Russia remains Ukraine’s biggest importer, buying goods worth $3.7 billion in 2018, according to Ukraine’s State Statistics Service.
