Former Finance Minister Azarov forecasts GDP decline up to 24 percent in 2009
Mykola Azarov www.chamber.ua

Former Finance Minister Azarov forecasts GDP decline up to 24 percent in 2009

July 04 at 11:40 | Interfax-Ukraine
Former Finance Minister and one of the Regions Party's leaders Mykola Azarov forecasts that GDP in 2009 might decline to 24%.

"By the end of the year, we are most likely to see a 23-24% GDP decline. I believe this is a disastrous figure," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

According to him, with such a decline and "all efforts to be made, let's hope that in 2010 we would be able to achieve zero" and in 2011 the country would see a 2-3% increase.

"In fact, we've lost a decade of the country's development," he added.

In his words, the situation in the country's economy is being aggravated by "the lack of growth" in agriculture and stagnation in industry.

"The industrial sector nowadays is showing about a 32.3% decline. Agriculture could have improved that situation a bit and made the figures better, yet, this won't happen this year," he said. As he forecasts, the grain harvest in 2009 will be 10 million tonnes less from to the previous year.