Putin and Kuchma's meeting with Russian and Ukrainian businessmen

The Russian-Ukrainian foreign trade turnover in January-May 2004 amounted to $5,909.7 million, featuring a 37.8% increase as compared to January-May 2003. The export grew by 33.4% amounting $3,711.4 million, while the import grew by 45.9% amounting to $2,198.3 million. The positive trade balance reached $1,513.1 million.

The supplies growth trend, which emerged in 2003, continues in 2004 both in export and in import in all commodity sections.

In January-May 2004, the Ukraine's share in Russia's commodity turnover made up 6.6%, while that in the CIS countries' commodity turnover amounted to 35.9%.

The high growth rates of the commodity turnover enabled the Ukraine to move from the traditional 4-5 place to the 3rd place among Russia's principal trade partners after Germany and Belarus.

The structure of export-import operations underwent no significant changes.

Russia's main export commodities to the Ukraine in the first quarter of the current year as well as in the recent years were oil (over 35% of the total export) and natural gas (18.3% of the total export).

The fuel and energy commodities totalled 62% of the export to the Ukraine.

Stable Russian supplies of the energy resources to the Ukraine is one of the most important factors in ensuring uninterrupted operation of the Ukrainian industrial and agricultural enterprises, achieving appropriate industrial and agricultural growth rates and, accordingly, commodities export growth.

In compliance with the protocol for 2004 to the intergovernmental Agreement on cooperation in developing the fuel and energy industry, this year Russia will ship up to 22 million tons of oil and up to 5 million tons of coal to the Ukrainian oil-processing plants.

In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement on transit of Russian gas through the Ukrainian territory, Gazprom will supply 26 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the Ukraine in 2004 to cover the price for transit.

Theshare of machinery, equipment and means of transportation in the Russian export to the Ukraine covers 16.7%. At the same time, the machinery import from the Ukraine amounts to 30.6%. However, despite the fact that the Russian figure is almost 2 times as low as that of the Ukraine, in monetary terms the Russian supplies slightly exceed those of the Ukraine.

The share of metallurgical products covered 6.3% of the Russian export to the Ukraine, while the share of the same section in the import from the Ukraine amounted to 22.2%.

The quota for the Ukrainian pipes import to Russia for 2004 is set at 715 thousand tons. In January-March this year the Ukraine used 25.9% of the quota, having shipped 184.9 thousand tons of pipes. The value of the Russian products export grew as compared to the same period of the previous year: the fuel and energy commodities by 27%, the metallurgical products by 67.7%, machinery and equipment by 44.9%, chemical products by 54.2%.

The value of the import grew as well: machinery and equipment by 50.5%, metallurgical products by 34.1%.