In April 2025, 4.1 million tons of agricultural products were exported from Ukraine, which is half as much as compared to the same period in 2024, when the volume of exports reached 8.3 million tons. Such data leads Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UKAB).
Wheat was the only item that saw growth — its export volume exceeded last year’s by 2.7 times. At the same time, the volume of sales of all other agricultural products abroad decreased significantly. The total reduction in the export of grain and leguminous crops in April 2025 amounted to 3.4 million tons. The largest drop was recorded in the corn segment — it was exported by 2.3 million tons less than a year earlier.
Despite the fact that agricultural products provide more than 60% of Ukrainian exports, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaly Koval noted that with the opening of the ports of Great Odesa, there are no logistical barriers to exports. The main factor in the decrease in export volumes was the decrease in demand from China. The reduction in purchases by Beijing also affected other markets, in particular Spain, which imports less due to a decrease in Chinese demand for grain from EU countries.
In March 2025, China, with a record harvest and large reserves, significantly reduced grain imports — almost four times overall and 23 times for corn. The import of Ukrainian grain to China has almost stopped: if earlier the volume reached $141.3 million, now it is only $60,000.
