Ukraine ups import of farm produce by 22% - Agrarian Economy Institute

In the first quarter of 2023, Ukraine boosted imports of farm produce by 22% year over year to USD 1,790 million.

This follows from a statement by the Agrarian Economy Institute with reference to the information of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

In particular, in the first quarter, European Union countries supplied food to Ukraine worth USD 907 million (50.7% in the structure of domestic farm produce imports), Asian countries - USD 398 million (22.2%), and African countries - USD 79 million (4 .4%).

According to the report, Poland continues to occupy first place in the ranking of the leading sellers of farm produce to Ukraine.

Thus, in the first quarter of 2023, it exported farm produce to Ukraine worth USD 232 million (13%).

The second position is held by Turkiye – USD 202 million (11%).

According to the report, the commodity structure of the import of farm produce traditionally consists of fish and seafood (USD 214 million), fruits, berries, and nuts (USD 210 million), seeds and fruits of oil crops (USD 197 million), alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (USD 153 million), tobacco products (USD 111 million), vegetables (USD 110 million), and various food products (USD 108 million).

Together, these types of farm produce accounted for about 62% of its imports.

"In 2023, farm produce imports to Ukraine will grow faster than exports. The import of vegetables has been added to its pre-war structure because, in the priority regions of their production in Ukraine, it is still impossible to ensure a full operational cycle due to the occupation of the territories and proximity to the front line," said Senior Researcher of the Economics Department of Agrarian Production and International Integration of the Institute Bohdan Dukhnytskyi.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Poland intends to extend the ban on importing grain crops, sugar, eggs, dairy products, pork, and other farm produce from Ukraine from the end of June to the end of December 2023.

On April 19, Bulgaria introduced a temporary ban on the import of farm produce from Ukraine.

Earlier, Hungary and Slovakia banned the import of Ukrainian farm produce.