From February 1, Ukraine obtained the full membership in the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin, Trade Representative of Ukriane Natalia Mykolska told in Facebook, ET reports.

The share of Ukraine’s export to Pan-Euro-Med member countries is currently 58.9%, 40.3% from them – to EU countries.

The member countries of the Convention can use materials and raw materials of each other without the loss of preferential status of the origin (bilateral and diagonal cumulation).

For producing the goods, Ukraine may buy raw materials and component parts from member countries of the Convention, with which Ukraine concluded the free trade agreement, and export finished products to other members of the Convention, using the effect of diagonal cumulation when establishing the preferential status of the product.

Respectively, both Ukrainian materials and component parts may be used for production in the member countries of the Convention for further export in the form of components of finished products.

“These are also new opportunities for participation of Ukrainian business in regional value chains. The next step is the implementation of the Convention. It diversifies our export from the perspective of geography as well as from the perspective of commodity bundle, the volume of supply to the market will increase”, Mykolska noted.

The convention will also allow expanding the presence of Ukrainian goods on third markets, with which the free trade agreements are concluded, namely EU, EFTA, Montenegro, Moldova and Macedonia.