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The article examines the current state of foreign trade in agri-food products based on the use of techniques and methods of statistical analysis. It was found that the export of these goods is developing most dynamically, as a result of which, starting from 2014, agricultural and food industry products become the main export product of Ukraine, and its share in the total export of goods reached 45.1% in 2020, which is much higher than a similar indicator for developed countries and indicates the presence of serious problems in other sectors of the economy. It was also noted that the export of these products provides the largest surplus in comparison with other goods, which affects the state of the country's trade balance. During the analysis, it was revealed that the basis of agri-food exports is plant products, mainly cereals and oilseeds, the sales of which are growing both absolutely and relatively, which indicates the predominantly raw nature of this type of activity. The study of the reasons for this nature of the commodity structure of the export of agri-food products shows that they are hidden in the peculiarities of domestic production. In agriculture, crop production is mainly growing. Livestock production, on the other hand, grows very slowly. There are serious problems in the food industry - insufficient production volumes, a limited range of products, and product quality, which is inferior to foreign goods, which explains the growth of imports of food products. A comparative analysis of the commodity structure of Ukraine and, less often, European countries shows that our competitors in the world market in their export policy are guided by the export of livestock products and finished food products, that is, products with high added value. In Poland and France, the sale of only these goods significantly exceeds the entire agri-food export of Ukraine. The paper emphasizes that the main way to improve the commodity structure is to increase responsible food production, which will increase the export of these products, reduce imports and increase the positive balance. On the basis of the conducted study, recommendations have been presented to improve the efficiency of foreign trade in agri-food products in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the development of the value, commodity and territorial structure and competitiveness of agricultural trade of the countries of the Visegrad Group in 1993-2008. Over the years, there has been a sharp increase not only to the volume, but also to the value of the traded agricultural products. The territorial structure of both exports and imports has narrowed to a decisive extent, primarily to the trade with the countries of the EU27. The commodity structure of agricultural trade has adapted very strongly both to the world and especially to the European market and it has furthermore reacted to the changes in the structure of the individual national markets. In the course of the years, the commodity structure has profiled so that there has been a limitation of aggregation with a strong comparative advantage on the market of the EU countries in relation to the aggregations that did not held this advantage. The analysis that has been performed indicates that the process of the accession to the EU has been reflected positively in the results of agricultural trade especially in the case of Poland. In the case of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the entry into the EU likewise has not led to a worsening of the results in the area of agricultural trade. Only in the case of Hungary, one does find serious structural problems after the entry into the EU in the case of agricultural trade. It can be assumed that these problems can be attributed for the most part to the Hungary's current economic problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the differences in the intensity of production factors' use in the export of the European Union countries, which cannot be explained only by the resources available at the disposal of these countries. The paper is an empirical analysis of the general and bilateral trade of the EU countries. The article uses statistical data for comparative analysis of the export structure and further construction of the gravity model. The line of reasoning consists of two essential elements. First, conclusions are drawn based on literature analysis. The main empirical part of the article is based on quantitative analysis (the gravity model using secondary data). UNCTAD was used as the data source of statistical data. Commercial cooperation attractiveness in the EU is a key factor in constructing the gravity model of foreign trade. The attractiveness can be expressed as the size and level of development of economic partners, geographical distance and the common border. Nevertheless, new variables such as memberships in the EU and the EMU were added. The resources of production factors have no direct impact on the export structure. The chosen direction of economic cooperation is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the article is to determine the influence of the process of convergence of the demand structure in the European Union countries on the share in the export structure of groups of products distinguished due to the share of the technological factor. Research Design & Methods: A dynamic analysis of the similarity of the demand structure of the EU countries was made in the article. The interdependence between the convergence of the demand structure and the reduction of distance in the economic development level was presented. An analysis of the commodity structure of bilateral trade of the EU countries was conducted and the gravity model of foreign trade was used. Findings: Similarity in the demand structure of trade partners influences the commodity structure of trade between them. The effects of this influence are different for trade relations of countries which are on a different level of economic development. Implications & Recommendations: Conclusions drawn from the article are useful for the economic policy and support for exports. The research is worth continuing and completing with methods enabling the reference to more complex dependencies influencing the process of the demand structure convergence. Contribution & Value Added: The article fills the research gap with regard to determining the influence of the alignment of the level of economic development on the convergence of the demand structure and referring this process to changes in the commodity structure of exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]