Ukraine’s real GDP growth in the second quarter of 2023 reached 20-21% compared to the second quarter of 2022, according to the leading researcher of the Institute of Economic Research and Political Consultation (IED), Oleksandra Betlii.
“There has been rapid growth so far. But there will be a significant slowdown in the second half of the year,” she said.
The IED indicated that one reason for the high growth rates, which the institute estimated at 15.3% in June compared to 20.9% in May and almost 22% in April, is the low base of comparison in the same period of 2022.
The institute stated that the explosion of the Kakhovka dam led to a deterioration of indicators in metallurgy and iron ore mining, however real gross value in the mining sector remained at the same level as last year. The energy sector showed worse indicators than in June 2022 due to the ongoing repair of power units.
The IED noted that in June, unlike January-May, indicators in agriculture also reflect crop production and real gross value in the industry increased by 3.4%.
Further recovery continues in a number of branches of the processing industry, in particular, in machine building and the food industry, which retained growth of 20%. At the same time, the real gross value of the processing industry remained significantly lower than the pre-war level of 2021.
The institute also reported that real gross value in trade and transport continued to grow at a strong pace in June but from a low base.
As reported, at the end of April, the National Bank improved its forecast for economic growth in 2023 to 2% from 0.3% in the January forecast, estimating a decline in the first quarter of 13.5%.
The EU forecasts the growth of Ukraine’s GDP by 0.6% in 2023, and by 4% in 2024.