Ukraine targets value-added production to reshape wartime economy By Reuters

By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s wartime authorities will boost domestic mark-added manufacturing to reshape its commodities-pushed economy, develop earnings, boost development and return millions of Ukrainians dwelling, the first deputy high minister talked about.

Yulia Svyrydenko, who shall be the economy minister, suggested Reuters in an interview that the changes had been wanted for the country to enhance, to rebuild after wide damage from the struggle and to bring the economy closer to the European Union.

“Our project is to lend a hand more Ukrainian manufacturing and also lend a hand the consumption of Ukrainian-produced goods,” the 38-year-same outdated talked about in an interview.

The authorities has already launched a series of programmes offering grants and loans to small and medium-sized businesses, also to attend firms relocate to safer areas and created dozens of industrial parks with specialised fiscal measures.

“The duty is to plug away from the economy of raw materials and to kind the economy that produces goods with added mark. We face challenges to velocity up development attributable to we want to rebuild and also combine into the European Union.”

The authorities has raised its forecast for economic development this year to 4% from the old target of three.5% on account of raised preparedness for energy sector challenges, Svyrydenko talked about.

The authorities’s conservative scenario for 2025 envisages a 2.7% develop in GDP as the struggle, security risks, anticipated energy deficit and workers shortages will restrict development, she talked about.

The central bank is more optimistic about 2025 economic potentialities and forecasts 4.3-4.6% development in 2025 and 2026.

LOSSES MOUNT

As the struggle with Russia approaches its 1,000-day mark, human, social, and economic losses mount. Svyrydenko talked about the authorities, the World Bank, and diversified partners had been working on a brand recent review of industrial losses induced by the struggle.

The most up-to-date available estimate confirmed that notify damage in Ukraine reached $152 billion as of December 2023, with housing, transport, commerce and industry, energy and agriculture as the most affected sectors. The total fee of reconstruction and restoration used to be estimated at $486 billion.

“It is 2.8 times better than our nominal GDP in 2023,” Svyrydenko talked about.

In spite of industrial development in 2023 and to this point in 2024, the Ukrainian economy used to be aloof only at 78% of its size ahead of the invasion in February 2022, Svyrydenko talked about.

The principle aim used to be to originate the Ukrainian economy more self-satisfactory.

“From every hryvnia consumed in Ukraine, 40% is returning to the funds… and it is some distance the subject no longer only of industrial self-sufficiency nonetheless also our defence capability,” she talked about.

Ukraine spends the bulk of its inform earnings to fund its defence efforts. Kyiv seriously relies on financial lend a hand from its allies to pay for social and humanitarian spending. Almost $100 billion in Western economic lend a hand has been bought to this point.

Reduced electricity generation capability after Russia’s intensified bombardments of the Ukrainian energy sector has been a key finishing up this year and going forward, Svyrydenko talked about.

The authorities oversaw a large repair campaign, agreed on better electricity imports from Ukraine’s Western neighbours, and supported businesses of their steps to rob energy independence by simplifying guidelines and allocating funds.

One more advanced project used to be to return Ukrainians dwelling, Svyrydenko talked about. Ukrainian businesses name labour shortages as one in every of their top issues as millions of Ukrainians are in a single more country and tens of hundreds of Ukrainian men had been mobilised.

The authorities plans to characteristic up a specialised company to spearhead efforts to return Ukrainians dwelling. For now, 4.1 million Ukrainians had been instant registered in Europe, reliable recordsdata confirmed.

Svyrydenko talked about the authorities study confirmed that about fifty three% had been intriguing to return as soon as the safety anguish improved and also jobs and housing had been available.