Ukraine reduced exports to the CIS countries by almost a quarter

From January to September, Ukraine reduced exports to the CIS countries by 23.8%, compared to the same period last year.

The indicator of transportation to the CIS does not take into account exports to russian federation and Belarus, which de facto are not carried out due to the full-scale war, said Roksolana Pidlasa, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.

“Trade with Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan decreased the most – by more than half. This is primarily due to the complication of logistical routes due to the blockade of the Black Sea ports by the russian army. At the same time, exports to Moldova increased by 15% due to the fact that the country became one of the transit destinations for Ukrainian goods,” the official said.

According to the deputy head of the Committee, in general, total exports to the CIS countries for 9 months of the year amounted to 1.27 billion US dollars.

“Before the full-scale invasion, we observed a positive trend — Ukraine’s exports were growing for several years, and the CIS countries were no exception. Even if we do not take into account russia and Belarus, in 2021 we exported 27% more to the CIS countries than in 2020,” the deputy added.

Pidlasa also said that Ukraine has bilateral free trade agreements with all CIS member countries, the GUAM Free Trade Agreement, and also applies the pan-Euro-med regional convention with Georgia and Moldova. There are many tools that work for Ukrainian manufacturers, and there is no need to participate in a “Russian-centric treaty where Russia imposes its rules and uses the right of force.”

It is worth noting that Ukraine is a founding state of the CIS, but has never been a member of the CIS, as it did not sign the Decision on the adoption of the CIS Statute. At the same time, since 2014, the process of denunciation of CIS agreements and treaties has been ongoing in Ukraine.