In May, the business activity recovery index in Ukraine remained at 0.13, indicating stable business sentiment compared to April. At the same time, experts from the Institute for Economic Research (IER) note that amid this stability, concerns among exporters are increasing.
This is reported by Finway
Growing Uncertainty Among Exporters and Main Barriers to Business
According to analysts’ estimates, the greatest uncertainty regarding the prospects for business development in the next three months is observed among exporters. In particular, 20.7% of them cannot determine how their export volume will change over the next 3-4 months.
Moreover, the share of companies planning to reduce their activities over a two-year horizon has increased to 5%. At the same time, the overwhelming majority (95%) of enterprises do not anticipate a decrease in their workload, and some even expect further growth.
“The shortage of personnel is the main barrier for 63% of businesses. This issue is exacerbated by mobilization and the departure of employees.”
Among other significant challenges, businesses note the dangers of operations and the rising costs of raw materials and supplies—these factors rank second in importance (47% each). Currently, power supply disruptions remain a secondary issue, affecting only 7% of surveyed companies.
Production Dynamics and Capacity Utilization
The majority of enterprises (53%) continue to operate at over 75% of their production capacity. However, the percentage of companies that increased production in May has decreased to 19.5%. At the same time, the share of those who were forced to reduce production volumes has risen to 13.5%.