Falling prices had an even greater impact on the reduction of Ukrainian exports than the border blockade.

The reduction of Ukrainian exports occurred not only due to the negative impact from the Polish border blockade. According to experts, the main blow to the growth of Ukrainian exports is the reduction in prices of exported goods. This, in turn, “overshadowed the effect from the recovery of sea transportation, including non-food goods, thanks to which physical export volumes increased by 31% in the first quarter”.

Thus, the prices of four out of the five main Ukrainian export goods, which accounted for 51% of the total volume in the first quarter, significantly decreased compared to the previous year. Corn’s export price decreased by 25% from the previous year; the same drop was observed in the price of sunflower oil, and the price of wheat fell by 18%.

March’s exported goods totaled $3.2B, down 16% from March 2023, while imports rose 7% to $5.9B. This led to a trade deficit in goods of $2.7B.