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5.2.1 Import/export dynamics
Ukraine and Turkey finalizing FTA as speaker visits Kyiv. Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal stated on March 4 that Ukraine and Turkey were putting the final touches on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement, media outlet Unian reported. The announcement comes as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop arrives in Kyiv for a two-day working visit. According to Ukrinform, Şentop will focus on inter-parliamentary relations and diplomacy. Meetings with politicians outside of the legislature as well as the business and Turkish diaspora communities will also take place. Ukrainian-Turkish relations have been building steadily over the past few years, and the momentum is unlikely to stop. Military as well as business cooperation is growing, as is (pandemic aside) tourism and migration, as evidenced by Şentop’s meetings with diaspora leaders. The extent and breadth of the ties – not merely trade but also in defense, security and free movement – is a historic shift in relations across the Black Sea.
“Exports to China continue to grow at a crazy rate” – up 55% y/y, Kachka wrote. Other increases for the first quarter of 2021 were: EU +18% and Poland +16%. With regards to Turkey, Ukraine registered a $260mn trade surplus. Kachka wrote: "The main driving force of exports is ore and ferrous metals, for which both prices and demand are rising. This trend will continue.”
With food accounting for most of Ukraine’s exports to China, Ukraine is negotiating to open China to 15 new farm products from Ukraine, Vladyslava Magaletskaya, Ukraine’s Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service, wrote on Facebook after meeting with China’s Ambassador Fan Xiangzhong. The list includes: honey, cherries, apple, peas, fish products, wheat, barley and animal feed.
Russia is the second largest buyer of Ukrainian weapons, only behind China, according to 2020 data published by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Ukrainian arms were exported mainly to China (36% of total exports), Russia (20%) and Thailand (17%), SIPRI specifies. Ukraine ranks 12th in the world for arms exports with a global export market share of nearly 1%, SIPRI reports. Between 2011-2015, Ukrainian arms exports accounted for 2.6% of the global market.
Aircraft accounted for the largest share of Russia’s arms exports last year, Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said in a live broadcast of the Rossiya-24 TV Channel on Friday. "We can say that aircraft account for about 50% [of Russia’s arms exports], air defense systems make up 25% while the remaining percentage is attributed to the weapon systems of land forces, the naval hardware and other military products," Shugayev said. The geography of Russia’s arms deliveries has not undergone any significant changes, he said. "In principle, our partners have remained the same. These are countries of Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa," the director of Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said.
Imports of exotic fruit rose by 18% in 2020, valued at $795mn, the Institute of Agrarian Economics reports, citing data from the State Customs Service. The main supplier of exotic fruit is Turkey. Which accounted for the volume of
30 UKRAINE Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com