Archive:Ukraine-EU - international trade in goods statistics

Data extracted in March 2021

Planned article update: March 2022

Highlights

In 2020, the Ukraine was the 18^th largest partner for EU exports of goods (1.2 %) and the 19^th largest partner for EU imports of goods (1.0 %).

Among EU Member States, Poland was both the largest importer of goods from and the largest exporter of goods to Ukraine in 2020.

Imports, exports and trade balance between the EU and Ukraine, 2010-2020

This article provides a picture of the international trade in goods between the European Union (EU) and the Ukraine. It analyses the type of goods exchanged between the two economies and the shares of each EU Member State in those exchanges.

This article is part of an online publication providing recent statistics on international trade in goods, covering information on the EU's main partners, main products traded, specific characteristics of trade as well as background information.

Full article

Recent developments, impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis caused both exports and imports between the EU and the Ukraine to fall in 2020. Exports reached a minimum of EUR 1.5 billion in April 2020. By December 2020 they had recovered to EUR 2.1 billion. Imports reached a minimum of EUR 1.2 billion in May 2020. By December 2020 they had recovered to EUR 1.5 billion.

Figure 1: EU trade in goods with the Ukraine, 2019-2020
(EUR billion, seasonally and working-day adjusted)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc)

Figure 2 compares trade with the Ukraine to trade with other non-EU countries. Between January 2019 and December 2020, exports to the Ukraine increased by 0.7 % while exports to other non-EU countries decreased by 2.6 %. Imports from the Ukraine decreased by 19.4 % while imports from other non-EU countries decreased by 9.7 %. Compared to the same month in the previous year, imports from Ukraine (- 28 %) and to other non-EU countries (- 29 %) dropped most in April 2020. For exports to Ukraine the worst month was May 2020 with a drop of 35 % compared to May 2019 while imports from other non-EU countries had their worst month in April 2020 with a drop of 21 %.

Figure 2: EU trade in goods with the Ukraine and other non-EU countries, 2019-2020
(Jan 2019 = 100 %, seasonally and working-day adjusted)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc)

EU and the Ukraine in world trade in goods

Figure 3a shows the position of the Ukraine among the largest traders of goods in the world in 2019. The four largest exporters were China (EUR 2 233 billion, 16.1 %), the EU (EUR 2 132 billion, 15.4 %), the United States (EUR 1 468 billion, 10.6 %) and Japan (EUR 630 billion, 4.6 %). The four largest importers were the United States (EUR 2 293 billion, 16.1 %), the EU (EUR 1 940 billion, 13.7%), China (EUR 1 857 billion, 13.1 %) and Japan (EUR 644 billion, 4.5 %).

Figure 3a: The Ukraine among the world's largest traders of goods, 2019
(% share of world exports/imports)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

Figure 3b has some more details. It shows that Ukraine (EUR 45 billion, 0.3 %) was the 36^th largest exporter in the world between Kazakhstan (EUR 51 billion, 0.4 %) and Peru (EUR 43 billion, 0.3 %). It was the 30^th largest importer in the world (EUR 54 billion, 0.4 %) between Chile (EUR 62 billion, 0.4 %) and Bangladesh (EUR 53 billion, 0.4 %).

Figure 3b: Top traders in goods with a focus on the Ukraine, 2019
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

The imports and exports of goods of the EU and the Ukraine indexed at 100 in 2009 for the period to 2019 are shown in Figure 4. It also shows the cover ratio (exports / imports) for this period. Exports from the EU were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2019 (180). Imports to the EU were lowest in 2009 (100) and highest in 2019 (163). The cover ratio for the EU was lowest in 2011 (97 %) and highest in 2016 (116 %) and was 110 % in 2019. Exports from the Ukraine were lowest in 2016 (91) and highest in 2012 (172) and were 126 in 2019. Imports to the Ukraine were lowest in 2015 (82) and highest in 2012 (186) and were 133 in 2019. The cover ratio for the Ukraine was lowest in 2012 (81 %) and highest in 2015 (102 %) and was 83 % in 2019.

Figure 4: Trade in goods of the EU and the Ukraine, 2009 to 2019
(exports and imports indexed at 100 in 2009, cover ratio in %)
Source: Eurostat (ext_lt_introeu27_2020) and UNCTAD

Both exports to and imports from the Ukraine increased between 2010 and 2020.

The position of the Ukraine among the largest trade partners of the EU in 2020 can be seen in Figure 5a. The four largest export partners of the EU were the United States (18.3 %), the United Kingdom (14.4 %), China (10.5 %) and Switzerland (7.4 %). The four largest import partners of the EU were China (22.4 %), the United States (11.8 %), the United Kingdom (9.8 %) and Switzerland (6.3 %). Figure 3b has some more details. It shows that Ukraine (EUR 23 billion, 1.2 %) was the 18^th largest export partner of the EU, between Singapore (EUR 24 billion, 1.2 %) and Hong Kong (EUR 23 billion, 1.2 %). In imports Ukraine (EUR 17 billion, 1.0 %) was the 19^th largest partner of the EU, between Singapore (EUR 17 billion, 1.0 %) and South Africa (EUR 16 billion, 1.0 %).

Figure 5a: The Ukraine among the EU's main partners for trade in goods, 2020
(% share of extra EU exports/imports)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 5b: Top trade in goods partners of the EU with a focus on the Ukraine, 2020
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 6 shows the exports, imports and trade balance between the EU and the Ukraine from 2010 to 2020. In 2010, the EU had a trade surplus with the Ukraine of EUR 6 billion. The trade surplus remained throughout the whole period, reaching EUR 7 billion in 2020. Both exports to and imports from the Ukraine increased between 2010 and 2020. EU exports to the Ukraine were highest in 2019 (EUR 24 billion) and lowest in 2015 (EUR 14 billion). EU imports from the Ukraine were highest in 2019 (EUR 19 billion) and lowest in 2010 (EUR 11 billion).

Figure 6: EU trade in goods with the Ukraine, 2010-2020
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-the Ukraine trade by type of goods

The breakdown of EU trade with the Ukraine by SITC groups is shown in Figure 7. The red shades denote the primary products: food & drink, raw materials and energy, while the blue shades show the manufactured goods: chemicals, machinery & vehicles and other manufactured goods. Finally, other goods are shown in green. In 2020, EU exports of manufactured goods (78 %) had a higher share than primary goods (20 %). The most exported manufactured goods were machinery & vehicles (36 %), followed by other manufactured products (22 %) and chemicals (20 %). In 2020, EU imports of primary goods (52 %) had a higher share than manufactured goods (47 %). The most imported primary goods were raw materials (31 %), followed by food & drink (19 %) and energy (3 %).

Figure 7: EU trade with the Ukraine by product group, 2010 and 2020
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Figure 8 shows the evolution of EU imports and exports by SITC group since 2010. In 2020, the EU had trade surpluses in machinery & vehicles (EUR 6.1 billion), chemicals (EUR 4.0 billion), energy (EUR 0.9 billion), other products (EUR 0.3 billion) and other manufactured products (EUR 0.2 billion). The EU had trade deficits in food & drink (EUR 0.5 billion) and raw materials (EUR 4.5 billion).

Figure 8: EU trade with the Ukraine by group, 2010-2020
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

EU-the Ukraine most traded goods

More detail about the goods exchanged between the EU and the Ukraine is given in Figure 9, showing the 20 most traded goods at SITC-3 level. These top 20 goods covered 41 % of total trade in goods in 2020. Six belonged to machinery and vehicles, four to other manufactured products, three each to raw materials and chemicals, two each to food and drink and energy. The most traded product group at this level was maize (excl. sweet corn), unmilled. Another interesting way to look at the data is to investigate the cover ratio (exports / imports) of traded goods, showing the direction of the trade flows between the two economies. These ratios can be found in the right-hand margin of Figure 9. Seven products were below 50 %, indicating EU imports from the Ukraine were more than twice as large as EU exports to the Ukraine. Ten products were above 200 %, indicating EU exports to the Ukraine were more than twice as large as EU imports from the Ukraine. Three products were between 50 % and 200 %, showing more balanced trade.

Figure 9: Most traded products between EU and the Ukraine, 2020
(EUR billion)
Source: Eurostat DS-018995

Trade with the Ukraine by Member State

Table 1a shows the imports of goods from the Ukraine by Member State. The three largest importers from the Ukraine in the EU were Poland (EUR 2 530 million), the Netherlands (EUR 1 994 million) and Italy (EUR 1 883 million). Bulgaria (5.0 %) had the highest share for the Ukraine in its extra-EU imports.

Table 1a: EU imports of goods from the Ukraine, 2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Table 1b shows the exports of goods to the Ukraine by Member State. The three largest exporters to the Ukraine in the EU were Poland (EUR 5 250 million), Germany (EUR 4 673 million) and Hungary (EUR 2 272 million). Hungary (10.0 %) had the highest share for the Ukraine in its extra-EU exports.

Table 1b: EU exports of goods to the Ukraine, 2020
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

The trade in goods balance between the EU Member States and the Ukraine is shown in Table 1c. It shows that 17 Member States had a trade surplus with the Ukraine. The largest surplus was held by Germany (EUR 2 833 million), followed by Poland (EUR 2 720 million) and Hungary (EUR 972 million). There were ten Member States that had a trade deficit with the Ukraine. The largest deficit was held by the Netherlands (EUR 801 million), followed by Spain (EUR 729 million) and Romania (EUR 359 million).

Table 1c: EU trade balance of goods with the Ukraine, 2020
(EUR million)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu27_2020sitc) and Comext DS-018995

Source data for tables and graphs

EU - Ukraine international trade in goods statistics - graphs and tables

Data sources

EU data is taken from Eurostat's COMEXT database. COMEXT is the reference database for international trade in goods. It provides access not only to both recent and historical data from the EU Member States but also to statistics of a significant number of third countries. International trade aggregated and detailed statistics disseminated via the Eurostat website are compiled from COMEXT data according to a monthly process.

Data are collected by the competent national authorities of the Member States and compiled according to a harmonised methodology established by EU regulations before transmission to Eurostat. For extra-EU trade, the statistical information is mainly provided by the traders on the basis of customs declarations.

EU data are compiled according to Community guidelines and may, therefore, differ from national data published by the Member States. Statistics on extra-EU trade are calculated as the sum of trade of each of the 27 EU Member States with countries outside the EU. In other words, the EU is considered as a single trading entity and trade flows are measured into and out of the area, but not within it.

The United Kingdom is considered as an extra-EU partner country for the EU-27 for the whole period covered by this article. However, the United Kingdom was still part of the internal market until the end of the transitory period (31 December 2020), meaning that data on trade with the United Kingdom are still based on statistical concepts applicable to trade between the EU Member States. Consequently, while imports from any other extra-EU-27 trade partner are grouped by country of origin, the United Kingdom data reflect the country of consignment. In practice this means that the goods imported by the EU-27 from the United Kingdom were physically transported from the United Kingdom but part of these goods could have been of other origin than the United Kingdom. For this reason, data on trade with the United Kingdom are not fully comparable with data on trade with other extra-EU-27 trade partners.

Data for the non-EU-27 countries used in figures 1-3 are taken from the UNCTAD database of the United Nations. For the calculation of shares, the world trade is defined as the sum of EU trade with non-EU countries (source: Eurostat) plus the international trade of non-EU countries (source: UNCTAD).

Methodology According to the EU concepts and definitions, extra-EU trade statistics (trade between EU Member States and non-EU countries) do not record exchanges involving goods in transit, placed in a customs warehouse or given temporary admission (for trade fairs, temporary exhibitions, tests, etc.). This is known as ‘special trade'. The partner is the country of final destination of the goods for exports and the country of origin for imports.

Product classification Information on commodities exported and imported is presented according to the Standard international trade classification (SITC). A full description is available from Eurostat's classification server RAMON.

Unit of measure Trade values are expressed in millions or billions (1 000 millions) of euros. They correspond to the statistical value, i.e. to the amount which would be invoiced in case of sale or purchase at the national border of the reporting country. It is called a FOB value (free on board) for exports and a CIF value (cost, insurance, freight) for imports.

Context

Trade is an important indicator of Europe’s prosperity and place in the world. The bloc is deeply integrated into global markets both for the products it sources and the exports it sells. The EU trade policy is one of the main pillars of the EU’s relations with the rest of the world.

Because the 27 EU Member States share a single market and a single external border, they also have a single trade policy. EU Member States speak and negotiate collectively, both in the World Trade Organization, where the rules of international trade are agreed and enforced, and with individual trading partners. This common policy enables them to speak with one voice in trade negotiations, maximising their impact in such negotiations. This is even more important in a globalised world in which economies tend to cluster together in regional groups.

The openness of the EU’s trade regime has meant that the EU is the biggest player on the global trading scene and remains a good region to do business with. Thanks to the ease of modern transport and communications, it is now easier to produce, buy and sell goods around the world which gives European companies of every size the potential to trade outside Europe.