The paper deals with the analysis of the export potential of Ukrainian agricultural producers which are the key players in the global food market. An assessment of possible economic consequences for agricultural products and foodstuffs exports to the world market in terms of EU or Customs Union membership. Estimation of of agricultural producers foreign economic activity efficiency in terms of Ukraine's membership in the World Trade Organization is made. Ways of agricultural producers foreign trade improvement in terms of multi-vector foreign policy are suggested.

There has been analyzed the need of agriculture food products imports caused by the following reasons: 1) deficiency or lack of certain types of agricultural products (subtropical crops, food products), 2) agriculture lagging from leading countries in innovation, which stimulates the import of high-tech ready-made products for agriculture, manely agricultural machinery, tractors, combines harvesters; 3) advantages of imported products, especially regarding the quality and safety due to the high level of European and international standards and high-skilled professional training, and 4) inadequate agriculture efficiency level, particularly due to significant losses at agricultural products production and processing stage; 5) the lack of well-developed marketing and logistics systems, which do not provide agriculture food products efficient storage, promotion, delivery and so on at this stage.

Negative impact on the national agriculture production and increase in market competing imports, especially those of meat and meat by-products, fruit, berries and grapes especially under shadow schemes is proved.

It was established that the policy of import substitution in the market of food products should be initially oriented to the development of industries with high potential for innovative goods deep processing production and export potential, adequate raw materials and technological basis for its production. The potential of import substitution is concentrated in sub-sectors which are now organizationally and technologically prepared to compete with imported goods in the national, including: vegetable processing and sauces production, kids and dietary foods, beverages. It is reasonable to restrict imports of hazardous essences and low quality concentrates, palm oil, which makes half of fats and oils imports in Ukraine. Besides, the are low quality and are used by manufacturers as a cheap substitute for animal fats and butter in the manufacture of a wide product range.

After Ukraine's joining the WTO, national producers have found themselves in unequal terms with their competitors from Europe and the USA. Thus, reduction of duties on the imported meat has caused a decrease in meat exports from 500 to 150-160 tons per year. It should be noted that meat import duty in Ukraine is 8 times lower than Ukrainian meat export to other countries duty. Foreign manufacturers have pushed the Ukrainian ones even in pork and bacon production which is Ukrainian traditional market segment as the. Pork imports increased by 2.3 times compared to 2007 in 2010.

It is proved that Ukraine joined the WTO on rather favorable terms – i.e. imported food duty reducing, the obligation not to encourage exports of agricultural products, amount of state support to the agricultural sector fixed in local currency. Thus, since the terms of the country's participation in the organizationcan be changed once every three years, according to the rules of the WTO, the government of Ukraine seeks to correct the Agreement in order to ensure equal terms for competition and changes in agricultural legislation certification .

Consequently, the inclusion of the agroindustrial complex of the country into the world economy on the basis of activation of FEA is a positive factor for national producers. However, there are a number of restraining factors: firstly, there is no foreign economic strategy developed and formally approved which would identify promising areas of foreign economic activity of the studied area, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the domestic producers, their opportunities and threats, and secondly, inconsistent and unreasonable use of the mechanisms of state regulation of foreign trade support tools, including export activities and promising industries with significant added value. An important function of the state in export supporting has not been developed and funded due to favorable conditions in the commodity markets, which provides currency taking, but does not stimulate the implementation of active export policy in food product markets. The third factor is  a low level of information support of foreign economic activity. In the present context it is necessary to develop a new system for studying and forecasting market conditions, search and check for foreign partners. Diversification of sales agents (trading houses, regional associations , and others. ) should be provided. Fourthly, the system of domestic producers protection does not perform quickly and efficiently enough.

Key words: agricultural producers, foreign economic activity, export, import, the world trade organization.