Page 43 - Ukraine OUTLOOK 2024

comparison, since during the past year the Ukrainian industry worked at low capacities in connection with its adaptation to new logistical opportunities and conditions on the European steel market.
At the same time, the drop in the September indicator compared to August is related to the slowdown in activity in the EU steel market due to unfavourable economic conditions.
• 6.2 Agriculture
In the current 2023/2024 trading season Ukraine’s agricultural exports
will decrease by 27%, and farmers’ annual losses will reach $3bn.
From July 1 to December 15 Ukraine exported about 24mn tonnes of grain, oilseeds and their processed products, which is 9mn tonnes less than in the corresponding period in 2022/2023, according to data cited by Oleg Khomenko, general director of the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian business.
According to the association's forecast, at the end of the 2023/2024 marketing year, the transitional grain balance in Ukraine will amount to 17.1mn tonnes if export volumes remain at their current level. At the same time, for the calendar year 2023, exports of agricultural products went up by 7% compared to 2022, to $22.9bn.
Khomenko predicts that Ukrainian agricultural businesses will lose $3bn in 2023 under an optimistic scenario. As the expert explained, the production of grain and oil crops in Ukraine is currently unprofitable, except for soybeans. And the most significant factor affecting the profitability of the agricultural sector is significantly complicated export logistics.
Ukraine grew 6% of the world’s grain production in 2023, according to the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA), or 81mn tonnes of grain, but it faced a significant 26.4% decline in grain exports as a result of the ongoing Russian aggression.
"Ukraine is located on such soils that we depend on the weather more than
43 UKRAINE OUTLOOK 2024 www.intellinews.com