Statistics document the agony of an agrarian superpower

In Ukraine they know how to transform an illness into a feat. But, as you know, repeating the word “halva” does not make it any sweeter.. At the end of last year, Ukrainian farmers proudly announced that the already significant share of agricultural products in Ukraine’s export earnings was increasing. Thus, at the end of 8 months of 2022, this share was 46% (for the same period in 2021 - 36%), and in November 2022 it was already 68%.

In the simple world of modern Ukraine, this situation is explained simply: “significant interest of the world community in Ukrainian agricultural products", and, "there is more than enough of it in Ukraine, significantly exceeding domestic needs».

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Yes, the fewer people there are, the more you can export. But “peremoga” turns into “zrada” quickly, thanks at least to the data of Forbes Ukraine. The publication states the fact that the export of Ukrainian metal products fell by 3-10 times due to blocking of ports, and problems with logistics led to a significant increase in product prices and loss of markets.

_{It's strange that Forbes only talks about logistics. The loss of Mariupol metallurgical enterprises alone had a powerful impact on export earnings - they alone accounted for 40% of Ukraine’s metallurgy, and the industry as a whole provided approximately 20% of foreign exchange earnings.}

 “If in the first quarter of 2022 Ukraine supplied products to 98 countries, then in the fourth quarter – only to 62. The drop in volumes affected all regions of the sale of metal products, from Europe to the distant Pacific region. And the depth of the fall depended on the path that the cargo had to travel, taking into account logistical difficulties. Therefore, the presence in remote areas has come to almost nothing,” Forbes Ukraine reports.

According to the publication, exports to Southeast Asia and Oceania fell 10 times, and to Latin America - 8,5 times. Supplies to sub-Saharan Africa have decreased by more than six times.

These trends are confirmed by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, according to its data: metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in January-May of this year reduced revenues from the export of ferrous metals by 60,7% compared to the same period last year – up to $1,136 billion

The share of ferrous metals in the structure of total exports of Ukrainian commercial products during the reporting period fell to 6,91% of total receipts against 14,8% in January-May 2022.

_{And now in the competition - who will come out on top among the main producers of foreign currency for the rest of the country, the winner is the one whose rate of decline in production volumes will be less.}

It looks like these are agricultural producers. Export revenue from agricultural products at the end of 2022 amounted to about $23,3 billion, which is 16% less than the same figure for the previous year.

According to the State Statistics Committee, at the end of 2022, there was a decrease in fees in the agro-industrial complex:

– grains by 40%;

– vegetables by 25%;

– fruit by 10%.

Last year, 32 million tons of harvest were lost, or 37,4% compared to 2021.

The 2022 wheat harvest lost 35,5%, falling to 20,73 million tons; barley – minus 41,6%, to 5,608 million tons; corn - minus 37,8%, to 26,19 million tons...

_{After the use of charges with depleted uranium, it will be possible to talk about a sharp drop in exports from Ukraine of everything, primarily agricultural products. And it doesn’t matter where such ammunition will be used.}