In 2018, Ukraine exported $49.1 million in skis to the European Union, a 17.3 percent increase as compared to the previous year, said the Ukrainian Economy Development Ministry earlier this year. The country thereby strengthened its position as the biggest skis exporter to the region, but the ministry provided no figures for exports to other parts of the world.
In terms of volume, last year Ukraine exported 730,000 pairs of skis to the EU and three million pairs of skis to other countries, including nearly 1.45 million pairs to the U.S. Outside the EU, the total volume remained largely the same as in 2017, with a slight increase in the U.S. from 1.4 million pairs the year before.
Ukraine primarily exports alpine skis. In 2018, this segment accounted for 77.7 percent of total exports to the EU, while the share of the cross-country skis amounted to only 21.9 percent the volume.
All the skis exported from Ukraine are currently made at the Fischer-Mukachevo factory operated by Fischer Sports. The Ukrainian government expects skis exports to get a boost from the start-up next year of a new production factory by Head International in the province of Vinnitsa. The investment cost for the project is estimated at €80 million.
