Ukraine ships its products to roughly 180 countries, islands or territories.
Mainland China was the number 4 importer of Ukrainian exported products in 2022, accounting for 5.6% of worldwide spending on Ukrainian exports.
Russia placed as Ukraine’s twentieth-biggest customer consuming just 1.1% of Ukrainian global exports by value, plummeting from fourth place and 5.1% of Ukraine’s total exports one year earlier.
Led by Poland and Turkey, the 27-member European Union accounted for 63.1% of worldwide spending on products that Ukraine exported during 2022. That percentage is a dramatic increase from 39.1% in 2021.
List of Largest Trading Partners of Ukraine
Below is a list showcasing 25 of Ukraine’s top import partners, geographic entities that imported the most Ukrainian shipments by dollar value during 2022. Also shown is each import country’s percentage of total Ukrainian exports.
- Poland: US$6.7 billion (15.1% of total Ukrainian exports)
- Romania: $3.9 billion (8.8%)
- Türkiye: $2.9 billion (6.6%)
- mainland China: $2.5 billion (5.6%)
- Hungary: $2.28 billion (5.1%)
- Germany: $2.27 billion (5.1%)
- Italy: $1.7 billion (3.7%)
- Spain: $1.6 billion (3.5%)
- Netherlands: $1.54 billion (3.5%)
- Slovakia: $1.51 billion (3.4%)
- Bulgaria: $1.4 billion (3.2%)
- Czech Republic: $1.3 billion (2.8%)
- Moldova: $926.1 million (2.1%)
- United States of America: $892.8 million (2%)
- India: $892.7 million (2%)
- Austria: $822.6 million (1.9%)
- Egypt: $808 million (1.8%)
- Lithuania: $664.2 million (1.5%)
- France: $592.1 million (1.3%)
- Russia: $492.8 million (1.1%)
- Belgium: $467.3 million (1.1%)
- Saudi Arabia: $443.3 million (1%)
- United Kingdom: $440.9 million (1%)
- Israel: $333.5 million (0.8%)
- Latvia: $298.3 million (0.7%)
By value, 84.7% of Ukrainian exports in 2022 were delivered to the listed 25 trading partners.
Leading the fastest-growing importers of Ukrainian exported products were Romania (up 153% from 2021 to 2022), Bulgaria (up 70.9%), Slovakia (up 51.2%), Hungary (up 40.4%), then Poland (up 28.1%).
In contrast, purchases of Ukraine’s exports by the United States of America fell by -44.7% from 2021 while the United Kingdom cut back on its imports from Ukraine by -59.3%.
Russia’s imports from Ukraine dropped even further (-85.6% from 2021). Mainland China reduced its spending on Ukrainian exports by -68.9% year over year.
Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports to China
Ukraine sold US$2.5 billion worth of products to mainland China in 2022, down from $8 billion for 2021.
Ukraine reaped the highest dollar spending from mainland China on the following product categories.
- Cereals: US$1.1 billion (Down -56.6% from 2021)
- Ores, slag and ash: $385.6 million (Down -86.9%)
- Animal or vegetable fats, oils: $356 million (Down -64%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $351.9 million (Down -42%)
- Machinery including computers: $93.7 million (Down -65.3%)
- Iron and steel: $59.3 million (Down -81%)
- Meat, edible offal: $47 million (Down -23%)
- Wood, articles made from wood, charcoal: $19 million (Down -84.6%)
- Oil seeds: $16.2 million (Down -32.4%)
- Albuminoids, modified starches, glues, enzymes: $5.5 million (Up 37.5%
The fastest-declining exported product category from Ukraine to mainland China from 2021 to 2022 was ores, slag and ash. In particular, that category shrank due to lower Chinese purchases of Ukrainian iron ores and concentrates.
Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports to Russia
Ukraine sold US$492.8 million worth of products to the Russian Federation in 2022, down from $3.3 billion one year earlier.
Ukraine earned the most from export purchases by Russia on the following product categories.
- Inorganic chemicals: US$142.2 million (Down -79%)
- Iron and steel: $127.7 million (Down -85.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $63.1 million (Down -88.5%)
- Plastics, articles made from plastic: $27.5 million (Down -84.8%)
- Articles made from iron or steel: $13.7 million (Down -90.5%)
- Electrical machinery including consumer electronics: $12.7 million (Down -88.5%)
- Vehicles: $9.4 million (Down -80.9%)
- Organic chemicals: $9.2 million (Down -82.3%)
- Paper, articles made from paper: $8.8 million (Down -88.2%)
- Ceramic products: $6.8 million (Down -88.6%)
From 2021 to 2022, articles made from iron or steel represent the severest decliner among the top product categories in terms of Ukraine’s exports to the Russian Federation.
Russian imports of iron or steel tubes, pipes and other hollow items from Ukraine recorded one of the most dramatic reductions.
See also Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports, Ukraine’s Top 10 Imports and Capital Facts for Kiev, Ukraine
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on Europe: Ukraine. Accessed on May 25, 2023
Forbes 2022 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 25, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 25, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 25, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 25, 2023
Wikipedia, List of the biggest companies of Ukraine. Accessed on May 25, 2023
Wikipedia, List of companies of Ukraine. Accessed on May 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Ukraine. Accessed on May 25, 2023
