Ukraine’s export of processed products grows faster than supply of raw materials – Kachka

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Economy Deputy Minister, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to Kachka, a certain shift in emphasis occurred even prior to the full-scale war. With the start of the Russian invasion, against the background of logistics issues, many businesses completely revised their approach, realizing that the added value can be used to earn more by supplying smaller volumes of goods.

“In particular, against the backdrop of millions of tonnes of wheat exports, the increase in flour sales abroad by only a few tens of thousands of tonnes seems unimpressive. But, nevertheless, this is an increase of tens of percent compared to even the pre-war period. It is also important that such shipments go mainly towards Europe, to richer markets with better prices. And that is why our trade statistics confirm that the export of value-added products is growing at a much faster pace than the supply of raw materials,” Kachka explained.

At the same time, the Ukrainian official admits that the country’s export volumes of agricultural raw materials will remain significant for a long time. It is impossible to quickly outperform such huge numbers with processed products. After all, there is a global demand for such commodities.

“For example, it is a global trend now to sell cattle by live weight, rather than prepackaged chilled or frozen beef. Our interest is to increase the export of already cut and processed beef. And these two trends are in effect simultaneously. This does not mean that we should talk about any problems. We just need to study the markets and place the emphasis correctly,” Kachka noted.

The deputy minister promised a lot of news regarding industrial cooperation between Ukrainian engineers and their colleagues from the EU in the near future: there will be more orders for Ukrainian-produced key parts, as well as for the assembly of finished products from European components within Ukraine.

“This is facilitated by both the process of integrating into the EU internal market and the desire of our producers to change. We see that, participating in exhibitions, in business missions abroad, communicating with potential foreign partners, our businesses draw conclusions about which key parts should be produced and what can be of interest to foreigners,” Kachka mentioned.

The Ukrainian official expects the share of processed value-added products to increase. At the same time, he expressed confidence that the state would support the export of any products, without artificially limiting the supply of raw materials.

A reminder that, in July 2024, Ukraine’s export of goods increased by 9% compared to the previous month.