Mechanical engineering of the Donetsk region of Ukraine falls for the second year in a row

In the machine-building industry of the Donetsk region, the decline in production continues for the second year in a row. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the machine-building enterprises of the region do not have enough orders for stable production activities. In 2020, the volume of machine-building products in the region (excluding part of the temporarily occupied territory) was less than in 2019, by 13.2%. In January-August 2021, the decrease compared to the same period of the previous year amounted to 14.9%, while the industry as a whole provided an increase of 7.0%.
Since the beginning of this year, the share of mechanical engineering in the volume of industrial products sold has noticeably decreased. According to the latest data for January-July 2021, the volume of sales of engineering products amounted to 8.2 billion hryvnia, or 3.9% of the total in the region (in January-July 2020 it was 5.8%). In the sale of machine-building products in Ukraine, the share of the region's machine-building industry in January-July 2021 amounted to 7.6% against 9.3% in January-July of the previous year.
Although the machine-building enterprises of the region have significant export potential, the export of machinery, equipment, vehicles in January-July 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 decreased by 4.3% and amounted to 178.2 million US dollars. Most of the foreign exchange earnings were received from supplies to the Russian Federation - $ 110.2 million, or 61.8%. In foreign exchange earnings from the export of goods to this country, the share of engineering products amounted to 28.8%, while in the region as a whole - 4.9%. Engineering enterprises of Donetsk region provided 5.2% of export of engineering products in Ukraine.
The reason for the decrease in the total volume of engineering products, as well as in its export, was the decrease in investment demand - both external, and especially internal. The mechanical engineering of the region is largely focused on the need for new equipment for the coal and metallurgical industries. If in 2020 and in the first quarter of 2021 investment in these industries significantly decreased, then in the second quarter there was a positive trend. Capital investments in the coal industry increased by 72.3% compared to the second quarter of 2020, in the metallurgical complex - by 45.7%. This creates certain preconditions for the revitalization of the work of machine-building enterprises in the future.
In January-July 2021, 16.3 thousand people were employed in the mechanical engineering of the region. Their average monthly salary was UAH 16,224, which is 17.3% more than in January-July 2020, and 11.9% more than the average for the region's economy as a whole.
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On the fourth Sunday of September (in 2021 - September 26), Ukraine celebrates the professional holiday established by Presidential Decree No. 361/93 of September 8, 1993 - Machine Builder Day.