Direct financial losses Ukraine has suffered as a result of Russian trade aggression amounted to about $1 billion, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade and Ukraine`s Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska said in an interview with ZN.ua.
”The greatest losses are related to exports to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – more than 40% of exports have been lost,” Mykolska told ZN.ua.
”However, the [exports to the] rest of the countries have been affected, too. If we sum it up, we will see a figure of around $1 billion in direct losses. I draw your attention to the fact that these are direct losses, that is, only from the sale of goods. At the same time, we also suffer losses in the market of related services, in transport and logistics sectors. And this happens against the background of the decline in industrial output in Ukraine and the drop of its exports to the Russian Federation,” said the deputy minister.
Mykolska believes, the Russian trading aggression pursues several goals.
”The first one is to limit the inflow of foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine, making us financially weaker. Second – to push Ukrainian products out of these markets, replacing them with Russian goods. In most cases, those really are substitutable products. The third goal is to make it clear to transnational corporations, which have production facilities both in Ukraine and in Russia, that they should leave the Ukrainian soil and develop production in the territory, where they can ensure hassle-free access to the markets,” Mykolska concluded.
