15 Nov 2022 12:33

Ukraine-Asia trade in agricultural products down by almost 40% in 2022

MOSCOW. Nov 15 (Interfax) - The amount of trade in agricultural products between Ukraine and Asian countries decreased by 38% to $5.16 billion in January-August 2022 as compared to the $8.35 billion recorded in the same period the year before. Ukraine's trade surplus in this section of trade stood at $3.66 billion.

Such a decline in mutual trade was due to the crisis and the lengthy blockade of Ukraine's seaports, a circumstance that disrupted existing logistics chains, Ukrainian media said on Monday, citing the website of Ukraine's Institute of Agrarian Economics.

The largest markets for Ukrainian agricultural products in the Asian region in 2022 were Turkey, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Korea, and Iraq which accounted for 81% of the value of such exports from Ukraine, it said. Ukraine, in turn, buys agricultural products from Turkey, China, Indonesia, and India. Agricultural imports from these countries accounted for four-fifth of the total value of Ukrainian purchases in the Asian region.

"In January-August 2022, Asia traditionally focused on buying key groups of domestic exports - crops ($1.954 billion), oils and fats ($1.35 billion), oil-bearing crops ($334 million), meat products ($267 million), as well as processing industry residues and waste ($264 million)," the institute's deputy director Nikolai Pugachyov said.

Ukraine's major imports from Asian countries are citrus fruits, palm oil, vegetables, sunflower seed, coffee, and tea, Pugachyov said.

Even though the Asian region has been replaced by the European Union as the main market for Ukrainian food exports, Asia remains among the top priority and most promising markets.

"The presence here of countries with large-capacity domestic markets, such as China and India, as well as countries with high purchasing power, such as the Middle East, Japan and South Korea, along with the ability to facilitate a prompt restoration of the previous volume of deliveries should the socioeconomic situation stabilize, will hold high promise for domestic exports," he said.

The Institute of Agrarian Economics said earlier that Ukraine exported 20.2 million tonnes of core crops in January-August 2022, which is a quarter less than in the same period of 2021. Foreign currency proceeds from such deliveries declined by 18% to $5.22 billion.

As regards the list of these crops exported in January-August 2022, Ukraine sold abroad 15.1 million tonnes of corn for $3.8 billion, 4.1 million tonnes of wheat for $1.2 billion, and 800,000 tonnes of barley for $200 million.