Ukraine is leading industrial growth in the former Soviet Union this year, with the country's gross domestic product also showing one of the highest growth rates in the region
, analysts report.
Ukraine’s industrial output rose by 16.7 percent during January and February this year compared with the same period last year, according to an agency that tracks statistics in the CIS. The figure represents the highest growth rate of 12 post-Soviet republics, excluding the three Baltic countries. All post-Soviet states except Georgia saw their industrial production grow in the first two months of this year, with Kyrgyzstan placing second with 15.4 percent growth and Tajikistan third, registering 12.9 percent growth. Neighboring Russia saw its industrial output growth slow to 3.1 percent.
According to government data, Ukraine’s industrial upswing during the first two months of the year was driven by the wood processing industry, that saw a 33 percent increase, paper and printing with a 30 percent jump, light industry with a 28.8 percent increase and food processing at 22.8 percent.
The overall economy also grew by 7.6 percent in Ukraine in the first two months, the fourth highest indicator among the 12 countries, according to the agency.
Armenia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan posted higher GDP growth rates than Ukraine over the period, according to the report. Russia, which accounts for a third of Ukraine’s trade turnover, saw its GDP go up by 3.5 percent.
Ukraine’s economic growth this year represents a trend, which started last year when the country’s GDP rose by 6 percent. Ukraine’s economy is rebounding after a decade of steady economic decline, a period when the economy contracted by some 60 percent.
The government initially forecast 4 percent GDP growth for this year but senior officials recently became more optimistic, pegging the figure at 8 percent.
