KIEV, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has significantly boosted its farm exports to the European Union (EU) as the result of the gradual implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Ukrainian Agriculture Ministry said Thursday.
In the first half of 2017, Ukraine's exports of agricultural products to the EU jumped by 31.4 percent year-on-year to 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, the ministry said in a statement.
Grain and legume exports were the leading contributors to its increase, with soybean and barley supplies rising by about three-fold, while corn sales were up to 54.3 percent.
The Netherlands was the top export destination for Ukrainian agricultural products in Europe, accounting for 17.6 percent of the total sales. It was followed by Spain, Italy, Poland and France.
In January 2016, Ukraine and the EU launched the FTA, which gradually removes custom tariffs on over 90 percent of goods traded between the sides.
In May of this year, the EU granted Ukraine additional food exports quotas. Enditem
