Last year was very successful for Ukrainian machine-building industry. Production capacity of machine-building enterprises raised by 11.8% and total value of sold products amounted UAH 59.28 billion (around $ 12 billion). Almost half of production (UAH 29.41 billion; $ 6 billion) related to manufacture of transport; UAH 18.76 billion ($ 3,9 billion) to machine and equipment production; more than UAH 11,11 billion ($ 2,1 billion) – production of electric and electronic equipment.

Manufacture of motor transport became a driving force of machine-building, where growth rate turned out record comparing to last year and rose 36.3%. This trend may be explained by increased demand for cars in Ukraine (owing to the growth of citizens` prosperity), and also by active work of Ukrainian banks in the sphere of auto crediting.

Significant growth was also determined by production of metallurgy machinery (17.8%), because of continuous modernization process in Ukrainian ferrous metallurgy and its close neighbors (mainly Russia). Besides, production of control equipment rose by 28%, electric machines – 11.6% and was caused by increase in activity of the business fields consuming these products.

In general, growth rates in machine-building industry were expected to be significantly higher, if there was no production decrease in the most problematic spheres of domestic machine-building industry, mainly in agriculture machinery manufacture (decline by 17.1%). In this field experts underline existence of old problem – a low-quality and old-style production at morally and physically outmoded facilities. It gives possibilities for foreign analogues to compete. Makers of cutting tools also experience considerable difficulties now, reducing their manufacture by 10% due to the same problem, as well as producers of radio and television equipment, reducing volumes by 7%.

Positive trends in the development of Ukrainian machine-building industry will be outlined in the short-term outlook. In 5 months of 2007, growth rates in machine-building sphere amounted to 22.9%, and there are no preconditions for the change of this tendency.

The most considerable growth is demonstrated by the same leaders – motor transport producers (49.5%) and control equipment producers (39.5%). It also includes equipment manufacturers for extractive industry & building (39.2%), as well as railway machine-building enterprises (28.5%).

If such positive trends and total modernization will be followed by machine-building enterprises, the Ministry of Industrial Policy of Ukraine estimates that in the near future the annual volume of machine-building production in Ukraine will exceed UAH 500 billion ($ 100 billion).

Author Valeriy Lytvynov