Economy ministry: Ukraine’s physical export volumes close to pre-war levels

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Economy Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We are very close to reaching the pre-war physical export volumes. In January 2024, Ukraine exported 12 million tonnes of products, which is just two million tonnes less compared to the pre-war January 2022. A total of 8.7 million tonnes of them were exported by sea,” Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko noted.

In her words, the prospects look no less optimistic. Last month the first vessel insured against war risks under the UNITY insurance programme, which was created by the Ukrainian government in cooperation with partners, arrived at the Odesa region’s ports for loading operations.  The cost of insurance was just 0.75% of the vessel’s value.

“The normalization of the insurance market in trade is a cornerstone element of the resumption of value-added product exports. Our goal is to reach not only the pre-war export volumes, but also higher revenues. This will be possible when Ukrainian exporters are able to freely ship containers by sea. And this will only be possible when the insurance market for maritime transport recovers. That is why it is so important for us that insurance becomes more affordable and is actually used to export Ukrainian products,” Svyrydenko emphasized.

A reminder that last year Ukraine’s export revenues were among the lowest in the past decade, resulting from logistics issues. In 2023, Ukraine’s physical export volumes rose to about 100 million tonnes but, in value terms, the annual export reduced by 18.7% to USD 35.8 billion.