The surplus of Ukraine’s balance of foreign trade in the first half of 2021 fell by 46.3% compared to the first half of last year, to $0.41 billion, the State Statistics Service said on Aug. 13.
According to the authority, in the first six months of this year, exports of goods and services grew by 25.5%, to $34.87 billion, while imports rose by 27.6%, to $34.46 billion.
In particular, exports to the EU country grew by 39%, to $13.39 billion, while imports rose by 26.5%, to $14.32 billion, which made it possible to reduce the deficit in trade with the EU by 44.8%, to $0.94 billion.
In the first half of the year, the deficit was again recorded in Ukraine’s trade in goods being $1.33 billion, but it decreased compared to the first half of last year by 12.7% due to the outstripping growth in exports – by 30.7%, to $34.46 billion, while imports grew by 28%, to $31.25 billion.
In general, the foreign trade surplus was thanks to a surplus in trade in services, although it decreased by 17.7%, to $2.43 billion. This was due to the fact that exports grew by only 1.5%, to $5.64 billion, while imports, probably under the influence of weakening quarantine restrictions and the opening of tourism, rose by 23.4%, to $3.21 billion.
