Categories: General
Date: Dec 22, 2008
Title: Industry in Ukraine
Ukrainian Industrial Production Falls
By Katya Shtamburg, Nova Mova International Program Manager, from Internet sources.
Ukrainian industrial production fell at the fastest pace in Europe in November, led by sharp declines in steel, machine building and oil refining.
Overall industrial output fell by 28.6 percent, following a 19.8 decline in October, according to the Ukrainian National Bureau of Statistics. Steel production slumped by 48.8 percent, oil refining and chemical output fell by 35.2 percent, and machine building dropped by 38.8 percent. Emerging economies like Ukraine are being shaken by the global financial crisis, which has weakened currencies and dropped demand for their products in world markets.
However, Ukraine is definitely not the only country where industrial output has been in decline. In October, Latvia’s industrial output dropped by nine percent and Hungary’s production fell by 7.2 percent. Other countries in Eastern Europe have been struggling to maintain their economies and control the drop in production.
The effects of the 2008 economic crisis are particularly evident in Ukraine when compared with the healthy growth that had been seen through 2007. Overall industrial output grew by 10.2 percent in 2007, boosting economic growth to 7.3 percent. How quickly Ukraine can right its economic ship and restore industrial and economic growth remains to be seen. Most urgently, Ukraine needs to find a way to slow its economic decline and show some positive movement in 2009.