How much of Ukraine’s trade passes through the Suez Canal?

Estimated value of its trade with each partner that crosses the chokepoint; the percentage is the share of all its trade through the chokepoint, not of the pair’s trade.

1. Ukraine–China$2 billion · 40.4%
2. Ukraine–Saudi Arabia$726 million · 14.9%
3. Ukraine–Egypt$518 million · 10.6%
4. Ukraine–India$260 million · 5.3%
5. Ukraine–Jordan$168 million · 3.4%
6. Ukraine–South Korea$143 million · 2.9%
7. Ukraine–Australia$140 million · 2.9%
8. Ukraine–Indonesia$117 million · 2.4%
9. Ukraine–Japan$116 million · 2.4%
10. Ukraine–Vietnam$90 million · 1.8%

The products with the highest estimated value in 2024, with their share of the total through the chokepoint.

1. Wheat$483 million · 9.9%
2. Corn$367 million · 7.5%
3. Sunflower, safflower and cottonseed oil$327 million · 6.7%
4. Refined petroleum$272 million · 5.6%
5. Cars$188 million · 3.9%
6. Poultry meat$186 million · 3.8%
7. Iron ore$167 million · 3.4%
8. Batteries$118 million · 2.4%
9. Coal$106 million · 2.2%
10. Barley$101 million · 2.1%

• China–Ukraine: +6,728 nautical miles, ≈ 20 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Dardanelles; and the Bosporus
• India–Ukraine: +7,811 nautical miles, ≈ 23 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
• South Korea–Ukraine: +6,777 nautical miles, ≈ 20 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Dardanelles; and the Bosporus
• Indonesia–Ukraine: +6,065 nautical miles, ≈ 18 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
• Japan–Ukraine: +6,740 nautical miles, ≈ 20 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Cape of Good Hope; the Strait of Gibraltar; the Dardanelles; and the Bosporus

Estimated sailing detour, without costs, waiting or port capacity.

Odesa (100%)

Each port with the weight it receives from the country’s trade, based on where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest.

• See Suez Canal
• Ukraine trade

Other chokepoints it uses

• Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles) · 87%
• Strait of Gibraltar · 59%
• Strait of Dover · 28%
• Cape of Good Hope · 22%
• Strait of Malacca and Singapore · 20%
• Øresund · 9%

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• World Bank, Global Shipping Traffic Density · CC BY 4.0 (route network derived by this site)
• World Port Index (NGA) · Public domain (US Government work)
• Natural Earth · Public domain
• Kummu et al., gridded GDP · CC BY 4.0 (split between ports done by this site)

Methodology

We estimate the value crossing each chokepoint from BACI trade that travels by sea according to our mode heuristic, split between each country’s ports by where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest, and routed over our own sea network. It is an estimate, not a count of ships. It covers 99.9% of seaborne trade. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.