Ukrainian Black Sea exports for the second month exceed the best performance indicators of the grain corridor

For the second month in a row, the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the ports of the Black Sea exceeds the best performance indicators of the grain corridor, and the total volume of exports has reached the pre-war level.

In January, Black Sea exports decreased by 10% compared to December, from 4.8 to 4.29 million tons, but both indicators exceed the record monthly grain corridor export volume of 4.1 million tons, achieved in October 2022.

Chornomorsk port shipped 1.9 million tons of products in January, Odesa – 1.3 million tons, Pivdenny – 1.02 million tons. Deliveries through Danube ports in January decreased by 11% to 1.13 million tons, in particular through Izmail – 773,237 thousand tons and Reni – 313.34 thousand tons.

Currently, in the total volume of exports, the share of deliveries through river ports is 27%, through deep-sea ports - 44%, by rail - 16%. The volume of railway export of agricultural products in January decreased by 18% to 685,687 thousand tons.

The total export of agricultural products in January reached 6.36 million tons, which exceeds the indicators of January 2019 and 2020, when exports amounted to 6 million tons.

The humanitarian corridor created by the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made it possible to restore export volumes, through which Ukraine exports goods from deep-sea ports without any additional checks, as was the case during the operation of the grain corridor created under the auspices of the UN and Turkey.

The main items of Ukrainian exports in 2023 were grain and oil crops, vegetable oils and fats, meat and by-products, and the largest buyers were Romania, China and Turkey, the National Scientific Center "Institute of Agrarian Economy" reports.

For the first time, the ranking of the main importers of Ukrainian agricultural products was led by Romania, which purchased goods worth $2.87 billion last year, which accounted for 13% of Ukrainian exports of agricultural products.

The second position was taken by China, which increased purchases compared to 2022 by 18% from $1.8 to $2.2 billion, which accounted for 10% of domestic exports of agricultural products.

Turkey retained the third position in the ranking with a share of 9% or $1.99 billion.

After the introduction of restrictions on the import of agricultural goods from Ukraine, Poland lost the status of the largest buyer of Ukrainian agricultural products and reduced its purchases by 30% to $1.79 billion.

Also, the TOP-10 largest buyers of Ukrainian agricultural products included:

• Spain ($1.76 billion),
• The Netherlands ($1.27 billion),
• Egypt ($1.07 billion),
• Italy ($1.04 billion),
• Germany ($862 million),
• Hungary ($471 million).

In 2023, the specified 10 countries provided Ukrainian exporters of agricultural products with 69% of foreign exchange earnings.