Ukraine's visible exports fall 7% by volume in May

MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) - Ukraine's visible exports slipped 0.5% month-on-month by value to $3.34 billion in May, while by volume they fell 6.9% to 12.2 million tonnes, the country's deputy economy minister and trade envoy, Taras Kachka said.

"This is foremost related to the fact that exports of grain products from the previous year's harvest traditionally decrease in May. For example, corn exports in May of this year were 452,000 tonnes lower than in April (3.6 million tonnes) and wheat [exports] were 285,000 tonnes lower (1.6 million tonnes)," Ukrainian media reported Kachka as saying on social media.

Visible imports fell 7% month-on-month to $5.1 billion in May, he said.

Kachka noted a significant increase in exports of metal products, including 40% to 184,000 tonnes for semi-finished products, 17% to 117,000 tonnes for flat steel products and 50.2% to 51,000 tonnes for seamless pipes. He said the fact that the United States extended the suspension of a 25% duty on Ukrainian steel imports until June 1, 2025 played an important role.

Seaborne exports fell by 1 million tonnes from April to 8.5 million tonnes in May, while exports by road rose 10.7% to 0.896 million tonnes, Kachka said.

Exports to the European Union grew by 1.7% month-on-month to $1.867 billion, with exports to Poland increasing 12% to $365.8 million. Exports to China fell 30% to $256 million, as Ukraine's main export to China is corn.

Exports to India surged almost 90% to $148 million, with sunflower oil, exports of which rose 13.7% to 714,000 tonnes in May, making up the lion's share of this, Kachka said.