Assessment of agricultural export structure’s impact on national economic development: Ukrainian case

The development of socially responsible activities and the achievement of sustainable development goals have been identified as a strategic direction of global development. Given the decisive importance of the agricultural sector, implementing sustainable activities in this area will contribute to the overall achievement of sustainable development goals. The key here should be transforming approaches to producing raw materials to developing the agricultural raw materials processing complex. Objectives: the goal is to justify the possibility of achieving sustainable development goals through the development of the sustainable agricultural sector. Methods/Approach: statistical data on the development of agriculture in countries worldwide (GDP, the value of agricultural production, the value of exported agricultural products with their share in the country's total exports, the structure of food trade) were collected and analysed using regression methods. The analysis was conducted according to the countries' economic development level. Results: the results confirm, that the production of processed products generates significantly higher added value, and its implementation will contribute to economic growth. This has been proven by the results of the formed four regression models, which showed the negative impact of agricultural raw materials exports on macroeconomic indicators. Conclusions: transition from raw materials exports to exports of highly processed goods is a key driver of sustainable economic development. Raw material processing development ensures sustainable economic growth for the country, stable incomes, new jobs, independence from raw material markets, and the achievement of SDGs. That is why, development of sustainable agribusiness is very important for Ukraine because it can become a key driver of the country's post-war recovery.