The deficit of Ukraine’s balance of foreign trade in 2017 amounted to $2.63 billion. On the same day last year, the balance stood at a surplus of $0.54 billion, the State Statistics Service reported on Wednesday, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
Taking into account the data released earlier, in the last quarter of 2017 the deficit was around $1.42 billion, which exceeds the last year’s figure by over 22 times.
The State Statistics Service said that in 2017 exports of goods and services from Ukraine grew by 16%, to $52.33 billion, whereas imports increased by 23.3% and reached $54.96 billion.
Exports to the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States rose by 9.2%, to reach $10.65 billion, whereas imports from those nations soared by 31.2% and reached $12.12 billion.
At the same time, exports to member states of the European Union increased by 26.7%, to $20.05 billion and imports grew by 19.1%, to $23.3 billion.
The deficit of Ukraine’s balance of foreign trade in goods rose 2.2-fold in 2017 and reached $6.33 billion, while the balance of foreign trade in services exhibited an increased surplus of 12%, to $5.09 billion.
The surplus of Ukraine’s balance of foreign trade in 2016 stood at $0.34 billion, which is around 91% less than in 2015.