КОМПАРАТИВНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ЗОВНІШНЬОЇ ТОРГІВЛІ УКРАЇНИ ТА СЛОВАЧЧИНИ

Abstract

The article examines the main absolute (volume of exports, imports, and trade balance) and relative (marketability index, net trade index, coefficient of export coverage, export quota, import quota, foreign trade quota) indicators of Slovakia's development, and performs comparative analysis of the foreign trade in Slovakia and Ukraine. On the basis of the conducted research, conclusions were made about the level of development of foreign trade activity, including the assessment of the level of openness of both countries, the degree of their dependence on world markets and the degree of participation in the international division of labour. In the research process, linear diagrams were used to display the dynamics of Slovakia's main foreign trade indicators; sector diagrams – to display the commodity structure of exports and imports of Slovakia; bar charts – to compare the indicators of development of foreign trade activity of Ukraine and Slovakia. In the article, the main indicators of Ukraine's foreign trade activity are calculated taking into account the average exchange rate of the Ukrainian hryvnia to the euro for each specific year (2012–2021), which can be found on the official website of the National Bank of Ukraine. Ukraine and Slovakia are neighbouring countries, and Slovakia is a member state of the European Union. Thus, Ukraine is interested in promoting good neighbourly foreign trade relations between countries, as this will contribute to further integration of Ukraine into the European Union. The study of the indicators of foreign trade activity of Slovakia and their comparison with the indicators of Ukraine will make it possible to compare the positions of both countries on the world arena and to identify shortcomings in the foreign trade activity of Ukraine. In addition, the analysis of the commodity structure of Slovakia's exports and imports will make it possible to identify potential opportunities for increasing foreign trade between the two countries.