Page 44 - UKRRptFeb24

5.0 External Sector & Trade 5.1 External sector overview
5.2 Balance of payments
Ukraine increased the total volume of its exports by 112,000 tons. In 2023, Ukraine increased exports by 112,000 tons to almost 100 million tons of goods. At the same time, in value terms, the indicator fell by 18.7% to $35.8B. Despite the general decline in the export of Ukrainian goods, positive trends are observed in the furniture market, where volumes increased by 11% and cash receipts by 7%. Ukraine also exported 70% more sugar last year due to high demand in the EU. The largest export commodity in terms of volume, corn, with a physical growth of 5% in money terms, brought 16.8% less than a year earlier. Last year, 26.2 million tons of these products were exported from Ukraine. Currently, exports by sea are growing. In 2023, Ukraine exported almost one million tons more by sea than in 2022. On the other hand, exports by road transport continue to decline due to the Polish border blockade. Compared to November, the indicator fell by 18.3% in December, but in annual terms by only 0.7%. In contrast to exports, imports in monetary terms increased last year to $62.2B. Ukraine imported fuel the most, for $7.8B, miscellaneous (not disclosed) for $3.7B, medicines for $1.7B, and UAVs for $681M.
Ukraine's imports exceed exports by 76%. In 2023, Ukraine imported goods worth $63.5B and exported $36B, according to the State Customs Service. Ukraine imported the most goods from China, $10.4B, Poland $6.6B, and Germany $4.9B. Ukraine exported the most to Poland, $4.7B, Romania $3.7B, and China $2.4B. 65% of Ukraine’s imported goods were from the following categories: machinery, equipment, and transport $19.8B, chemical industry products $11B, and fuel and energy products $10.3B. Ukraine primarily supplied foreign markets with food products, with $21.8B in exports, metals and their products $3.9B, and machines, equipment, and transport $2.9B. According to the NBU, the negative balance of Ukraine's foreign trade in goods and services for 11 months of 2023 reached $34.11B, including a $25.74B trade deficit in goods. Compared to the same period in 2022, the total deficit increased by 58.9%, including a 220% increase in its trade deficit in goods. Such rapid growth in its trade deficit can negatively influence Ukraine’s GDP, exchange rate, inflation, and interest rates.
5.2.1 Import/export dynamics
In January, Ukraine increased its export volume by 12%, and the railway played a prominent role. Compared to January 2023, imports also increased - by 3.8%, the NBU reported. The main volume of Ukrainian exports consists of agricultural products. Ukrainian Railways (UZ) transported 3.93 million tons of grain cargo in January, the highest figure in the last two years. "We transported more only in November 2021 and January 2022," UZ top manager Valery Tkachev said. For the mentioned period, 3.36 million tons were transported in the export direction. In the direction of seaports, it is 2.7 million tons (80%),
44 UKRAINE Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com