Retail trade turnover growth to fall in 2012 - expert
2012-01-19 12:55:30
Although the sales of Ukraine's retail trade and restaurant businesses in 2011 grew up in comparable prices by 13.7% compared with 2010, in 2012 the growth rate of retail turnover will slow down, Olena Belan, a chief economist with Dragon Capital, commented.
According to the expert, through active recovery in consumer demand, retail trade turnover in Ukraine grew rapidly last year, ahead of many countries in Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Accelerated growth of retail trade in December suggests maintaining a high level of household consumption, which should compensate for the decline in the industry and support the growth of real GDP.
"We expect a slowdown in income growth in the current year, compared with an estimated 7.5% YOY in 2011, and do not expect a strong growth in bank lending. As a result, the rate of retail trade growth will also slow down and will not exceed 10% YOY," the expert said.