Page 38 - UKRRptFeb21

Earlier, head of the Political Council of the Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk said that Ukraine loses billions of dollars annually due to the Association Agreement with the EU. He called , the terms of the agreement "catastrophic" for the country's economy. Referring to the data of the State Statistics Service, the politician said that in 2020 the negative trade balance for Kiev amounted to $5.09 bln due to the "asymmetric and discriminatory" conditions of the free trade zone with the EU.
Imports of chocolate to Ukraine in 2020 grew in kind by 28% ​compared to the previous year, from 33,600 tonnes to 43,000 tonnes, in monetary terms it rose by 25.7%, from $150.5mn to $189.1mn, the State Customs Service has said.
According to the data, the export of chocolate from Ukraine last year decreased 9.7%, from 63,900 tonnes to 57,700 tonnes, in US dollar terms it fell by 6.6%, from $169.7mn to $158.4mn.
Among the main buyers of Ukrainian chocolate were Kazakhstan (7.2% of the total), Belarus (8.4%) and Romania (9.2%), and it was imported mainly from Poland (33.6%), the Netherlands (13, 8%) and Germany (12.2%).
According to the State Customs Service, imports of cocoa beans, cocoa paste, cocoa butter and cocoa fats, as well as cocoa powder in 2020 decreased in volume by 2.5%, to 54,300 tonnes, while in money terms it grew by 5.7%, to $186.9mn.
In addition, according to the State Customs Service, in 2020 the import of coffee and its substitutes also increased: in kind by 8.4%, to $48,400 tonnes, in monetary terms by 15.4%, to $166.4mn.
The export of these products amounted to 370 tonnes for $1.8mn, having increased by 61.2% and 15.8% compared to 2019, respectively.
The largest countries from, which Ukraine imported coffee were Poland (22.7%), Italy (15.3%) and Germany (8.1%).
​Exports of honey from Ukraine in 2020 increased by 45.1% compared to the previous year, ​to 80,800 tonnes from 55,700 tonnes, and in dollar terms by 27.2%, from $101mn to $139mn, the State Customs Service said.
As a result, its share in exports increased to 0.28% from 0.2% a year earlier, the State Customs Service said.
According to its data, imports of honey into Ukraine last year, although it grew 6.5 times in quantity terms and 4.5 times in monetary terms, is still more than 500 times lower than exports. In absolute terms, it amounted to 140 tonnes for $270,000.
The State Customs Service said that the largest three markets for Ukrainian honey last year were Poland with 26%, Germany with 18.8% and the United States with 9.7%.
Imports of cheese to Ukraine in 2020 increased from 23,700 tonnes to 46,700 tonnes compared to the previous year​, and in dollar terms from $108.9mn to $210.5mn, the State Customs Service has said.
38​ UKRAINE Country Report​ February 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com