Positive trends in Murmansk downturn
The economy of Murmansk Oblast is strongly affected by decline. Still, the downturn is less than in other Russian regions, and the economy shows signs of revival, the latest Barents Monitoring report concludes.
During the first quarter of 2009 the economic results on the whole revealed a considerable drop in economic indicators. However, with each month taken separately, a slight improvement of the situation is evident.
The industrial production index for the first quarter of 2009 was 88.3% of the level of the same period last year. Mining was down 20%, while the processing industry was down 15 percent. However, after a sudden drop in industrial production in late 2008 and early 2009, the indicators have turned and in March, growth was registered in practically all industrial sectors.
Investment volumes in the period January-March was considerably down compared to late 2008. However, investments were still more than two times larger than in the 1st quarter of 2008. The major share of these investments fall within the transport and communications sectors
The decline in industrial production affected the cargo transportation (traffic volume) in the region. Railway transport saw a more than 25 percent drop in transportation volumes. At the same time however sea transportation volumes increased by 15% and auto transport by 12,4 %.
The fishing industry has preserved positive dynamics. The production index in the fishery processing industry over the 1st quarter 2009 increased by 27% with the highest rise recorded in March. In the first quarter of 2009 the construction volume has been reduced and made up only 68,6% of the overall volume in January-March last year.
The energy sector appears to be only limited affected by the economic situation in the region. Electric power generation in the first quarter of 2009 was reduced by 2,8% and by monthly dynamics corresponds to the level of the last year.
