KIEV, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's exports of information technology (IT) products and services surged 20 percent in 2017 to reach a record 3.6 billion U.S. dollars, data from the industry association showed on Tuesday.

Ukraine's main IT export items last year were software, testing services and application support services, the IT Ukraine Association said in a statement.

According to the statement, the IT sector accounted for about 3.3 percent of Ukraine's projected gross domestic product and generated 585 million U.S. dollars in taxes to the state budget in 2017.

The industry has estimated that the country's IT exports have a potential to increase to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars this year and to 8.4 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.