Based on the results of the first half of this year, imports of goods into the territory of the Volyn region amounted to 333.9 million US dollars, exports – 138 million US dollars. That is, imports of goods exceeded imports by almost 2.5 times. These figures were made public during the round table "The State's Exchange Rate Policy Regarding the National Currency and Its Impact on the Economy" by the head of the main department of economy of the Regional State Administration, Volodymyr Mahera, – reported the own correspondent of the Western Information Corporation.
Volodymyr Mahera called such a sharply negative ratio of export-import operations an "economic hole of almost 200 million dollars." This indicates that the region is catastrophically "throwing" currency abroad without receiving even half of what was spent in return.
A sharp increase in import operations occurred precisely after the revaluation of the hryvnia carried out by the NBU on April 21 of this year. Overall in Ukraine, since the revaluation of the hryvnia, imports grew by 23%, while exports – by only 10-11%.
It has become more profitable for importing enterprises to work under these conditions, whereas domestic exporting enterprises, whose share accounts for 64% of the state's GDP, found themselves at a disadvantage. This does not stimulate the development of the domestic goods producer competitive on the foreign market.
The perniciousness of such an NBU policy is obvious from the example of OJSC "Lutsk Bearing Plant." In order to at least partially cover the losses from selling foreign currency earnings for exported products at a reduced exchange rate, Lutsk machine builders began buying metal not from Kryvyi Rih metallurgists, but from Russia.
As a result, a "doubly paradoxical" situation developed in the economic relations of OJSC "LBP" with OJSC "Lutsk Automobile Plant." OJSC "LBP" buys metal from the Russians, produces bearings from it – exports them to Russia. The Russians use Lutsk bearings to manufacture components for VAZ automobiles and... – send them for large-unit assembly to OJSC "LuAZ."