That dollar amount results from -27.7% in shrinkage from $50.1 billion in 2019.
Year over year, the value of Ukraine’s exports dropped by -18.6% compared to $44.4 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Ukrainian hryvnia depreciated by -41.5% against the US dollar since 2019 and dropped by -13.1% from 2022 to 2023. Ukraine’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Based on 2022 data, the 5 most valuable exported products from Ukraine generated 41.9% of the Eastern European country’s total international sales. At the more detailed 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level, Ukraine’s top money-making shipments were for: corn, sunflower-seed or safflower oil, iron ores or concentrates, wheat, then rape or colza seeds.
Ukraine’s Key Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 55.6% of products exported from Ukraine were bought by importers in: Poland (10.7% of the global total), Romania (8.5%), mainland China (5.4%), Türkiye (5.3%), Germany (4.54%), Spain (4.52%), Italy (3.5%), Netherlands (3.4%), Hungary (2.7%), Egypt (2.44%), Slovakia (2.42%) then the Czech Republic (2.2%).
Shifting out to a continental perspective, 69.1% of Ukraine’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 24.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Ukraine shipped another 4.6% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to North America (1.9%), Latin America (0.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Ukraine’s population of 33.2 million people (down from 34.8 million), its total $36.2 billion worth of exports in 2023 translates to roughly $1,090 for every resident in the Eastern European nation. That dollar metric falls below an average $1,300 per capita for 2022.
Ukraine’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ukrainian global shipments during 2023, at the 2-digit HTS code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ukraine.
For a more detailed presentation of the top 100 goods exported from Ukraine, please see the section entitled Searchable List of Ukraine’s Most Valuable Export Products further down this article.
- Cereals: US$8.3 billion (23% of total exports)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5.6 billion (15.6%)
- Oil seeds: $2.8 billion (7.8%)
- Iron, steel: $2.6 billion (7.3%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1.9 billion (5.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $1.7 billion (4.6%)
- Wood: $1.5 billion (4.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $1.4 billion (3.9%)
- Machinery including computers: $957.2 million (2.6%)
- Meat: $892.3 million (2.5%)
Ukraine’s top 10 exports in terms of product category accounted for over three-quarters (76.5%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Food industry waste and animal fodder was the fastest grower among the Ukraine’s top 10 export categories, up by 27.6% from 2021 to 2022.
The leading decliners among the remaining Ukrainian top export categories was for the metals iron and steel (down -41.9% from 2022), ores, slag and ash (down -39.4%), then electrical machinery and equipment (down -35.4%).
Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Ukraine
The following types of Ukrainian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Cereals: US$8.2 billion (Down by -9.2% since 2022)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $5.4 billion (Down by -5.1%)
- Oil seeds: $2.4 billion (Down by -29.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $1.9 billion (Down by -38.1%)
- Iron, steel: $1.34 billion (Down by -62.8%)
- Wood: $1.29 billion (Down by -23.9%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $986.7 million (Up by 34.5%)
- Meat: $751.2 million (Up by 3.8%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $496 million (Up by 114.5%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting , signs, prefab buildings: $431 million (Down by -12.5%)
Ukraine has highly positive net exports particularly in the international trade of corn, wheat and barley. In turn, these cashflows indicate Ukraine’s strong competitive advantages under the cereals category.
Products Causing Biggest Trade Deficits for Ukraine
Ukraine incurred an overall -US$27.4 billion trade deficit in 2023, accelerating by 153.9% from -$10.8 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Ukraine that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Ukraine’s goods trail Ukrainian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$10 billion (Down by -15.2% since 2022)
- Vehicles: -$6.9 billion (Up by 35.1%)
- Machinery including computers: -$4.34 billion (Up by 44.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$4.29 billion (Up by 78.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$2.5 billion (Up by 23.6%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.9 billion (Up by 12.1%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.3 billion (Up by 29%)
- Fertilizers: -$1.2 billion (Up by 91.1%)
- Other chemical goods: -$1.1 billion (Down by -5%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$888.2 million (Up by 21.7%)
Ukraine has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for energy products refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases, coal and crude oil under the mineral fuels-related category.
Ukrainian Export Companies
The following companies are selected examples of leading companies headquartered in Ukraine. Wikipedia lists the biggest exporters from Ukraine. Selected examples are shown below.
- Aeromeh (aircraft)
- Azovstal iron and steel works (iron, steel)
- Bogdan group (automobile maker)
- Chumak (food processing)
- EKTA (LED displays, imaging equipment/software)
- Metinvest (mining, metals)
- Motor Sich (engines)
- Naftohaz of Ukraine (oil, gas)
- Ukrainian Automobile Corporation (automobile maker)
- Ukrtatnafta (refined oil)
- Zaporizhstal (steel)
Searchable List of Ukraine’s Most Valuable Export Products
At the more granular four-digit HTS code level, the following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Ukraine during 2022. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2021.
Note that the data highlighted is from 2022, unlike the remainder of this article which focuses on 2023.
| Rank | Ukraine Export Goods | 2022 Value (US$) | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corn | $5,992,448,000 | +1.7% |
| 2 | Sun/safflower/cotton-seed oil | $5,492,560,000 | -14% |
| 3 | Iron ores, concentrates | $2,913,579,000 | -57.8% |
| 4 | Wheat | $2,678,054,000 | -47.2% |
| 5 | Rape/colza seeds | $1,551,024,000 | -8.3% |
| 6 | Insulated wire/cable | $1,328,189,000 | -16.4% |
| 7 | Sunflower seeds | $1,263,155,000 | +3124% |
| 8 | Iron or non-alloy steel products (semi-finished) | $1,191,279,000 | -70.9% |
| 9 | Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products | $1,008,926,000 | -73% |
| 10 | Soya beans | $865,428,000 | +42.8% |
| 11 | Poultry meat | $858,856,000 | +19.9% |
| 12 | Miscellaneous oil cakes | $775,408,000 | -39.4% |
| 13 | Pig iron | $638,727,000 | -61.1% |
| 14 | Iron or steel tubes, pipes | $627,035,000 | -2.3% |
| 15 | Electrical energy | $589,179,000 | +129.3% |
| 16 | Iron ferroalloys | $582,187,000 | -44.2% |
| 17 | Sawn wood | $479,187,000 | -31% |
| 18 | Electric water heaters, hair dryers | $465,438,000 | -8.5% |
| 19 | Barley | $447,049,000 | -64.9% |
| 20 | Miscellaneous furniture | $379,189,000 | -16.9% |
| 21 | Veneer sheets, sheets for sawn wood | $320,441,000 | +13% |
| 22 | Coiled iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $312,747,000 | -53.9% |
| 23 | Soya-bean oil | $305,935,000 | +3.6% |
| 24 | Seats (excluding barber/dentist chairs) | $299,650,000 | -31.1% |
| 25 | Wood packing cases, boxes, crates, drums | $237,610,000 | +54.5% |
| 26 | Turbo-jets | $226,715,000 | -44.7% |
| 27 | Coal, solid fuels made from coal | $216,939,000 | +26984% |
| 28 | Soya-bean oil-cake, other solid residues | $210,352,000 | -17.6% |
| 29 | Wood carpentry, builders' joinery | $206,660,000 | -18.7% |
| 30 | Fuel wood, wood chips, sawdust | $193,264,000 | +56.7% |
| 31 | Medication mixes in dosage | $192,778,000 | -29.4% |
| 32 | Frozen fruits, nuts | $191,838,000 | -11.2% |
| 33 | Fruit and vegetable juices | $176,875,000 | +80.3% |
| 34 | Cold-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products | $170,277,000 | -73.5% |
| 35 | Nitrogenous fertilizers | $168,247,000 | -72.6% |
| 36 | Aluminum oxide/hydroxide | $159,788,000 | -75.6% |
| 37 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $152,799,000 | -40% |
| 38 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $143,607,000 | -23.7% |
| 39 | Phone devices including smartphones | $141,257,000 | -42.2% |
| 40 | Sugar (cane or beet) | $139,473,000 | +912.9% |
| 41 | Sugar confectionery (no cocoa) | $139,372,000 | -31.5% |
| 42 | Iron or non-alloy steel bars, rods | $138,274,000 | -69.6% |
| 43 | Glass bottles, jars, pots, other containers | $138,271,000 | -30.9% |
| 44 | Natural honey | $137,945,000 | -3.9% |
| 45 | Parts of railway/tramway locomotives, rolling stock | $132,254,000 | -41.6% |
| 46 | Titanium ores, concentrates | $131,843,000 | -18.6% |
| 47 | Air or vacuum pumps | $116,849,000 | -27.5% |
| 48 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $116,708,000 | -23.4% |
| 49 | Iron or non-alloy steel wire | $115,912,000 | +36.4% |
| 50 | Cigars/cigarellos, cigarettes | $115,624,000 | -65.5% |
| 51 | Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated) | $108,537,000 | -74.3% |
| 52 | Laminated wood (including plywood, veneer panels) | $105,129,000 | +29.9% |
| 53 | Men's suits, trousers (not knit or crochet) | $104,530,000 | -12.4% |
| 54 | Electric sound/visual signal bells or alarms | $101,846,000 | +32.5% |
| 55 | Particle board, other ligneous materials | $95,015,000 | -14.1% |
| 56 | Insoles, heel cushions | $91,404,000 | -13.7% |
| 57 | Concentrated/sweetened milk, cream | $91,305,000 | +59.2% |
| 58 | Bottle stoppers, caps, lids | $90,085,000 | -6.9% |
| 59 | Clays | $88,481,000 | -69.4% |
| 60 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $88,432,000 | -48.7% |
| 61 | Rape/colza/mustard oil | $83,630,000 | -62.4% |
| 62 | Butter | $81,911,000 | +56.6% |
| 63 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $80,681,000 | -23.7% |
| 64 | Miscellaneous nuts | $80,627,000 | -30% |
| 65 | Casein | $80,376,000 | +61.5% |
| 66 | Vinyl chloride polymers | $78,729,000 | -77.3% |
| 67 | Dried shelled vegetables | $78,346,000 | -45.1% |
| 68 | Women's clothing (not knit or crochet) | $78,328,000 | -13.7% |
| 69 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $76,961,000 | -15.3% |
| 70 | Miscellaneous wooden articles | $76,780,000 | -5.2% |
| 71 | Other diagnostic/lab reagents | $75,956,000 | +0.4% |
| 72 | Electrical converters/power units | $74,520,000 | -16.1% |
| 73 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $73,281,000 | -40% |
| 74 | Processed petroleum oils | $71,909,000 | -62.7% |
| 75 | Frozen beef | $71,500,000 | -37.7% |
| 76 | Wood charcoal | $71,319,000 | -3.2% |
| 77 | Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs) | $68,604,000 | -22.2% |
| 78 | Hydrogen, rare gases | $62,083,000 | +14.4% |
| 79 | Miscellaneous iron or steel tubes, pipes | $61,242,000 | -47.1% |
| 80 | Hydraulic cements | $60,543,000 | +30.3% |
| 81 | Liquid pumps and elevators | $60,423,000 | -58.6% |
| 82 | Distilled tar | $59,446,000 | -5.6% |
| 83 | Ball, roller bearings | $58,940,000 | -31.2% |
| 84 | Starches, inulin | $57,959,000 | +46% |
| 85 | Lamps, lighting, illuminated signs | $57,773,000 | +17.5% |
| 86 | Sort/screen/washing machinery | $57,537,000 | -44.7% |
| 87 | Flat-rolled other alloy steel products | $56,919,000 | -78.3% |
| 88 | Sanitary towels, baby napkins/liners | $56,910,000 | -31% |
| 89 | Non-alcoholic drinks (not water/juice/milk) | $56,533,000 | -57.5% |
| 90 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $55,339,000 | -31.7% |
| 91 | Copper bars, rods | $53,943,000 | -32.5% |
| 92 | Sports equipment | $53,904,000 | +32.7% |
| 93 | Margarine | $52,708,000 | -39.4% |
| 94 | Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations | $50,792,000 | -32% |
| 95 | Alloy steel bars, rods | $50,779,000 | -56.8% |
| 96 | Ethyl alcohol | $50,625,000 | +115.9% |
| 97 | Miscellaneous articles, dress patterns | $50,250,000 | -15.3% |
| 98 | Other coloring matter, luminophores | $48,738,000 | -51.3% |
| 99 | Paper containers, cellulose wadding | $48,698,000 | -44.1% |
| 100 | Petroleum gases | $48,595,000 | -24.1% |
By value, the table of 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$38.7 billion or 87.2% for all products exported from Ukraine during 2022.
Note that an entry of 0% in the table’s right-most column means 2022 data was unavailable.
In macroeconomic terms, Ukraine’s total exported goods represent 7.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($474.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 7.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 10.1% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Ukraine’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Ukraine’s unemployment rate averaged 19.4% in 2023, down from an average 24.5% for 2022 according to the International Monetary Fund.
Domestically, Ukraine’s average inflation rate was 17.655% for 2023 down from 20.183% in 2022.
Ukraine’s capital city is Kiev.
See also Ukraine’s Top 10 Imports, Russia’s Top 10 Exports, Wheat Exports by Country and Ukraine’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on Europe: Ukraine. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 17, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on March 17, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 17, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Wikipedia, List of the biggest companies of Ukraine. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Wikipedia, List of companies of Ukraine. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 17, 2024
Wikipedia, Ukraine. Accessed on March 17, 2024