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International trade minister Kemi Badenoch hailed the ‘historic’ agreement set to boost trade with Ukraine

The UK has signed a new trade deal with Ukraine to “support the country’s recovery from the war with Russia”.

The new digital-focused agreement is set to modernise a range of trade processes currently in place to facilitate trade with Ukrainian businesses.

This includes introducing paperless trading, which could directly reduce the cost of trade in goods, and promoting modern logistics such as the use of parcel lockers for the delivery of goods.

It means Ukrainian businesses will be able to trade with the UK more efficiently by using better tech like electronic transactions, e-signatures, and e-contracts.

Many countries still only accept physical contracts, so modernising this will make the flow of goods quicker and cheaper.

The Department for International Trade said this would “deliver tangible benefits” for the war-torn country seeking to rebuild its exports industry.

Some of those benefits also include cross-border data flows that are “vital” to enable Ukrainian businesses to access digitally delivered goods and increased collaboration on cybersecurity across supply chains.

The Institute of Export & International Trade’s director general Marco Forgione said this was “not bureaucratic faff but a really significant announcement”.

Read more: Ukrainian suppliers get British supermarket access boost thanks to new supply route

“Any trade deal that increases speed and digitalisation of cross-border movements is welcomed,” he said. “The facilitations and eases that come with enhancing product transportation and trade will undoubtedly help prop up Ukraine’s economy.”

The digitalisation of some trade procedures will help have greater visibility when tracking and tracing product provenance as well as ensure proper transportation of goods, Forgione said, which will in turn make Ukrainian suppliers more appealing to UK importers.

“Having that assurance of that chain of custody is crucial – some of Ukraine’s top exports to the UK include cereals and vegetable oils which are really important commodities feeding into the British food sectors, so anything that can be done to secure provenance and trade in those goods and ensures they are transported in prime condition is vital.”

The deal has landed as a group of Ukrainian producers called Ucare has told The Grocer it has faced a “lack of support” from British supermarkets.

Ucare has been in talks with UK grocers for months to try and implement a dedicated ‘Ukrainian shelf’ featuring products from several of the eastern European country’s farmers and manufacturers.

However, the project – which has already rolled out across some European and American retailers – has “not progressed far” in the UK, Ucare said.