Possibilities of export to Ukraine considered within programme of Moldova's Investments Agency

Chisinau, 10 October /MOLDPRES/ - Ukraine’s imports have increased by 13 per cent in the last five years. This proves that the neighbour country remains a market with big consumption potential and should not be ignored, no matter the challenges it puts to Moldovan entrepreneurs. This is the conclusion of the ninth session of the Export Morning programme, held by the Investments Agency in the end of this week, with the financial support of the High Value Agriculture Activity in Moldova project (HVAA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).    

The session titled, Ukraine’s export market: opportunities and challenges, included the experience of the bilateral trade before the pandemic, the current situation and the long-run vision as to the opportunities for exports to this market, from the viewpoint of the local companies involved in commercial activities with the neighbour country.

„Ukraine ranks sixth among the principal trade partners; it is the ninth export partner and the fourth import partner of Moldova. With 40 million consumers, the Ukrainian market is not turned to account at its full potential, following the improvement of the administrative and customs regimes. We have native producers which have managed to overcome the impediments to develop on the neighbour market. One of the viable ways for a quick development is the electronic trade, which, unlike the classical one, has advantages in terms of logistics, promotion and accessibility,’’ the director general of the Investments Agency, Rodica Verbeniuc, said.        

According to the National Statistics Bureau, in 2019, Moldova exported goods worth 649.1 million dollars to the Ukrainian market, by 1.25 per cent less against 2018.  

„The highest level of commercial exchanges between Ukraine and Moldova registered in the last years exceeded 900 million dollars – a high figure for the two countries, taking into account that the markets are regarded as emerging ones. Certainly, on the crisis period, this figure was diminished and the trade exchanges decreased; yet, they remained equally important for entrepreneurs. I think that the establishment of new contacts and starting of new projects needs support on behalf of the governmental structures from both countries. Therefore, I want to thank the organizers of this necessary and beneficial event,’’ Ambassador of Ukraine to Moldova Marko Shevchenko said.    

The most popular Moldovan goods exported to the Ukrainian market are medicines, wines, grapes, sunflower seeds, petroleum oils, etc. At the same time, Ukraine is in top 3 countries in terms of the number of tourists who visit Moldova.

The present edition of the Export Morning programme was preceded by sessions focused on the potential of export from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, China and Russia. In the context of the pandemic, the programme launched in 2019 continues online and has the goal to provide Moldovan entrepreneurs with complex support – informative and practical -, in order to facilitate the access of exports to foreign markets.  

Photo source: Investments Agency