ESTIMATION OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT OF EXPORT POTENTIAL OF THE SUMY REGION

The evaluation of foreign economic activity of enterprises of the Sumy region in the context of finding ways to increase the export potential of the region. The aim of the study is to assess the state of foreign economic activity of the Sumy region and to identify promising directions for the development of the region’s export potential. The methodological basis of the study was the provisions of economic theory, institutional theory and the theory of international trade. Evaluation of foreign economic activity was carried out on the basis of system analysis. Empirical studies of trends in foreign economic activity by business entities in the Sumy region were carried out using a comparative analysis and comparison of the time series. It is revealed that in 2015-2017 foreign trade turnover grew by 15.5%; The balance of foreign trade is positive, but there is a tendency to reduce it. Over the study period, the ratio of coverage of exports of imports also tends to decrease: from 1.37 in 2015 to 1.17 in 2017. Foreign investment volumes decreased during the study period. The largest investment projects were implemented by "Guala Klogers UKRAINE LLC", "Kerameya LLC" and "Mondelis Ukraine PJSC". Among the leaders of the countries-importers of products from the Sumy region remains the Russian Federation (27.7%), Turkey (5.6%), Germany (4.6%). Marked growth in exports to the EU. The main commodity groups are finished food products, base metals and products from them, machinery, equipment and mechanisms, polymeric materials. The article presents a set of external and internal factors that form the region’s export potential. These include: the introduction of modern technologies, the expansion and improvement of infrastructure, new management methods, the development of a market economic system. The necessity of attracting foreign capital in the economic processes of the region, increasing the volume of foreign trade turnover, the organization of joint ventures and cooperation, which will effectively realize the export potential of the Sumy region, is substantiated