Home to 0.5% of the world’s population of 7.875 billion people, Ukraine generated an even smaller 0.3% of the overall value of globally exported products for 2021.
Ukraine ships its products to almost 200 countries, islands or territories.
The number 1 importers of Ukrainian exported products is mainland China, which accounted for 12.1% of worldwide spending on Ukrainian exports.
Russia placed as Ukraine’s fourth-biggest customer consuming 5.1% of Ukrainian global exports by value.
Led by Poland and Turkey, the 27-member European Union paid 39% of worldwide spending on goods that Ukraine exported during 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 2021. Also shown is each import country’s percentage of total Ukrainian exports.
- China: US$8 billion (12.1% of total Ukrainian exports)
- Poland: $5 billion (7.6%)
- Turkey: $4 billion (6.1%)
- Russia: $3.3 billion (5.1%)
- Italy: $3.2 billion (4.9%)
- Germany: $2.8 billion (4.2%)
- India: $2.5 billion (3.8%)
- Netherlands: $2.1 billion (3.2%)
- Egypt: $1.9 billion (2.9%)
- Spain: $1.64 billion (2.5%)
- Hungary: $1.58 billion (2.4%)
- United States: $1.55 billion (2.4%)
- Romania: $1.5 billion (2.3%)
- Belarus: $1.46 billion (2.2%)
- Czech Republic: $1.38 billion (2.1%)
- United Kingdom: $1 billion (1.6%)
- Slovakia: $948.6 million (1.4%)
- Austria: $904.7 million (1.4%)
- France: $850.3 million (1.3%)
- Moldova: $841.6 million (1.3%)
- Bulgaria: $781.8 million (1.2%)
- Saudi Arabia: $779.5 million (1.2%)
- Indonesia: $735 million (1.1%)
- Israel: $711.7 million (1.1%)
- Iraq: $686.7 million (1%)
Leading the fastest-growing importers of Ukrainian exported products were Slovakia (up 112.1% from 2020 to 2021), Italy (up 67.9%), Czech Republic (up 67.5%), Turkey (up 65.5%), United States of America (up 57.8%), United Kingdom (up 56.7%), Austria (up 54.7%) then Bulgaria (up 53.2%).
In comparison, Russia’s imports from Ukraine rose 23.7% while mainland China increased its spending on Ukrainian exports by 12.5% from 2020 to 2021.
By value, more than three-quarters (76.4%) of Ukrainian exports in 2021 were delivered to the listed 25 trading partners.
Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports to China
Ukraine sold US$8 billion worth of products to mainland China in 2021.
That dollar amount reflects an average 12.5% increase from the $7.1 billion spent by Chinese importers on goods delivered by Ukraine one year earlier in 2020.
Ukraine reaped the highest dollar spending from mainland China on the following product categories.
- Ores, slag and ash led by iron: US$3 billion (Up 18.2% from 2020)
- Cereals led by corn and barley: $2.5 billion (Up 34.3%)
- Animal or vegetable fats, oils: $1 billion (Down -9.2%)
- Food industry waste, residues: $604.5 million (Up 23.8%)
- Iron and steel: $321.6 million (Down -47.1%)
- Machinery: $268.5 million (Up 8.5%)
- Wood, articles made from wood: $126.3 million (Up 0.3%)
- Meat: $56.5 million (Up 157.6%)
- Oil seeds: $23.5 million (Down -7.9%)
- Miscellaneous base metals: $18,964 (Up 67.4%)
The fastest-growing exported product category from Ukraine to mainland China from 2020 to 2021 was meat, propelled by higher sales of frozen beef.
In second place were miscellaneous base metals followed by Ukrainian exports of cereals to China mainly due to improved revenues from corn and barley shipments.
Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports to Russia
Ukraine sold US$3.3 billion worth of products to the Russian Federation in 2021.
That dollar amount results from an average 23.7% increase from the $2.7 billion spent by Russian importers on goods delivered by Ukraine in 2020.
Ukraine earned the most from export purchases by Russia on the following product categories.
- Iron and steel: US$841.7 million (Up 80.6% from 2020)
- Inorganic chemicals: $653.9 million (Up 17.8%)
- Machinery including computers: $548.3 million (Up 18.2%)
- Plastics, items made from plastic: $179.3 million (Up 16.8%)
- Items made from iron or steel: $140.4 million (Down -4.9%)
- Electrical machinery including consumer electronics: $107.1 million (Up 20.2%)
- Salt, sulphur: $99.7 million (Up 18.5%)
- Paper, items made from paper: $72.6 million (Up 33.3%)
- Ceramic products: $57.8 million (Up 46.5%)
- Organic chemicals: $48.9 million (Up 269.6%)
From 2020 to 2021, organic chemicals represent the fastest gainer among the top product categories in terms of Ukraine’s exports to the Russian Federation.
In second place were iron and steel as materials trailed by Ukraine’s exported ceramic products.
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 15, 2022
Forbes 2021 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 15, 2022
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 15, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 15, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 15, 2022
Wikipedia, List of the biggest companies of Ukraine. Accessed on May 15, 2022
Wikipedia, List of companies of Ukraine. Accessed on May 15, 2022
Wikipedia, Ukraine. Accessed on May 15, 2022
