Ukraine sets wartime export record in January – economy ministry

In January 2024, Ukraine reached a record level of physical export volumes since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with domestic producers exporting 12 million tons of goods. 

Also, for the first time in January, a ship involved in export operations was insured against war risks by the UNITY insurer, established by the Ukrainian government in collaboration with partners, according to Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, Rubryka reports.

"We are very close to returning to pre-war levels of physical exports. In January 2024, Ukraine exported 12 million tons of goods. This is only two million tons less than in January 2022, before the war. Of these, 8.7 million tons were shipped by sea," said Svyrydenko.

According to the economy minister, the prospects are also looking optimistic. Last month, the first ship insured against war risks by UNITY headed for loading at the ports of Odesa. The insurance cost for this ship amounted to 0.75% of the ship's value, which was significantly cheaper than during the BCGI period.

"Normalizing the insurance market in trade is a cornerstone of restoring exports of value-added products. Our goal is not only to return to pre-war export volumes but also to achieve higher revenues," said Yulia Svyrydenko. "This will be possible when Ukrainian exporters can freely send containers by sea. And this will only be possible when the marine transportation insurance market is restored. It is crucial for us that insurance becomes more accessible and is actually used for exporting Ukrainian products."

The UNITY ship insurance program, implemented by the Government of Ukraine in collaboration with Marsh McLennan and a pool of insurance companies led by ASCOT, aims to reduce the cost of insurance for maritime transportation of grain and other essential foodstuffs in Ukrainian territorial waters, contributing to an increase in Ukrainian export volumes. 

The total coverage under the program amounts to $50 million. According to estimates, the proposed mechanism will reduce the cost of grain insurance by an average of 2.5 percentage points of the insurance tariff, allowing grain traders to save approximately 100-140 hryvnias per ton of cargo and agricultural producers to generate additional revenue of up to 4 billion hryvnias.

Ukraine hopes that similar insurance instruments will be expanded to other types of exports in the future.