Economy minister doesn't rule out 3% drop in Ukraine's GDP in Q1 because of pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic could lead to a 3% drop in Ukraine's GDP in the first quarter of 2021.

This was stated by Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko during an online event, Ukrainian Investment Roadshow.

Read alsoEconomy Ministry forecasts 5% decline in Ukraine's GDP in 2020

"We think the negative effect of the pandemic will have a big adverse impact early next year. It is clear that GDP could fall by 3% in the first quarter of next year," he said.

Yet, the minister said, such a negative result would not prevent the achievement of growth planned at 4.6% by the end of 2021, because the recovery will begin in April, which should be facilitated by measures to stimulate the economy.

Previous developments

• Ukraine saw a decline in GDP in the nine months of 2020 slow to 5.5% after a 5.8% decrease in January-August 2020.