In May 2025, the index of business activity recovery in Ukraine remained unchanged compared to the previous month, standing at 0.13. Experts from the Institute of Economic Research report that despite this stability, new trends and challenges have emerged among entrepreneurs.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
Increasing Uncertainty Among Exporters
Particular attention should be given to the export sector. One in five exporters (20.7%) cannot predict their export volumes for the next three to four months, indicating high uncertainty in the industry. At the same time, among all surveyed enterprises, only 5% plan to reduce their activities in the next two years, while the overwhelming majority — 95% — do not foresee a decrease in their workload and even expect growth.
Main Obstacles for Ukrainian Business
Staff shortages continue to be the biggest problem for businesses: 63% of surveyed enterprises identified it as a key barrier to development. The situation is influenced by mobilization and the departure of workers abroad. Other major barriers include safety concerns at work and rising prices for raw materials and supplies, both of which received 47% mentions among respondents.
Power supply disruptions are not yet a critical issue — only 7% of survey participants reported them.
“The greatest uncertainty in the three-month outlook is recorded among exporters — 20.7% do not know what the dynamics of their exports will be in the next 3-4 months.”
The majority of companies (53%) operate at over 75% of their capacities, although in May there was a decrease in the share of enterprises that increased production volumes — only 19.5% remained in this category. At the same time, the share of companies that reduced production rose to 13.5%.