Ukraine’s trade deficit halved in 2020, from $10.2 billion to $4.9 billion, according to Taras Kachka, deputy economy minister.
In his Facebook post, Kachka said that exports from Ukraine amounted to $49.3 billion in 2020, only 1.7% less than in 2019, a triumph of sorts because of the coronavirus-induced recession that is believed to have shrunk gross domestic product 5%. Kachka said that “for a crisis year, the results are not that bad.” The $4.9 billion trade deficit puts the value of all imported goods at $54.2 billion.
In December, Ukraine exported $4.88 billion worth of goods, $150 million more than in November, and $760 million more compared to the same period last year, Kachka wrote on Facebook on Jan. 1.
Ukraine mainly exports raw materials like grains, seeds, oils, metals and ores. Prices for metal and ores have done well. Meanwhile, despite the poor harvest in Ukraine in 2020, the country exported even more agricultural products than last year, earning a total of $18.61 billion, $170 million more than in 2019. The amount of grain the country exported has decreased by 2.3% over the year, but Ukraine still got $9.4 billion because the price for barley, wheat and corn went up, according to Kachka.
China, Poland and Russia remained the main destinations for Ukraine’s exports from January to October 2020, according to the State Statistics Service. Meanwhile, Ukraine imported the most from China, Germany and Russia.
