Chernivtsi Region

Chernivtsi region is situated in the South-west of Ukraine in foremountain zone of the Carpathian mountains occupying the Prut-Dniester interfluve. The region was created on August 7th, 1940, as a result of unification of the northern part of Bucovyna and Khotyn county of Bessarabia. The oblast borders on the Ivano-Frankivsk, the Ternopil, Khmelnytsky and the Vinnytsia regions of Ukraine, Romania and Republic of Moldova.

The region’s territory is 8,100 sq. km which is 1,3% of Ukraine’s territory.

The population numbers 922,8 thousand inhabitants, most part of it is rural (60,0%). The region is multi-nation, including 70 nationalities: 70,8% of population are Ukrainians, 10,7% – Romanians, 9% – Moldavians, 6,7% – Russians, 1,7% – Jewish and 0,5% – Polish.

The region is devided into 11 administrative districts. It includes 11 cities, 8 towns, 398 villages. The regional center is the city of Chernivtsi with population of 240,6 thousand and which occupies the territory of 15,3 thousand hectars on both sides of the Prut river.

Chernivtsi region has favourable transport and geographical location, has a developped railway, motor road pipe and electrical line structure. The regional center has convenient railroad connection with european capitals: Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrad, Moscow.

The region is rich in natural resources. Four oil-gas-bearing deposits (Lopushne, Chornoguzy, Krasnoilsk, Sheremetiv) have been found in the Chernivtsi region territory. Above ten oil-gas-promising areas have been recently opened in the Vyzhnytsia, Novoselytsia, Storozhynets’, Putila districts.

There are a lot of building materials in the region bowels. Considerable deposits of gypsum and anhydride exist in the Dniester area and the Prut basin. The northem and eastem districts of the region are rich in marls and limestone. In Krasnoilsk there is a promising deposit of marble. There are also diposits of quartzits, potassium; sources of mineral water such as “Izhevsk”, “Matsest”, “Borzhomi”, “Naftusia”.

There are more than 70 rivers on the region’s territory which belong to Danube and Dnister basins. The basis of river system are Dnister, Prut, Siret, Cheremosh.

Chernivtsi region includes 243 forest recreational territories and sites and 7 natural reserves, 8 natural historical sites, botanic and dendrological park of Chernivtsi national university, Vyzhnytsia natural park and Storozhynets dendropark of state-level importance and are included into transnational ecological net of Carpathians (TACIS project), and also 136 natural historical sites, 40 parks that are sites of garden and park art, as well as 39 natural reserves of local importance. Landscape reserves in Luzhky, Stebnik, Tsetsino, ornitological reserve in Darnytsa, forest reserves in Lunkivtsi and Petrivtsi are included into the list of reserves of state-level importance. Natural reserve Bilka, caves Bukovynka, Popelyushka, Balamutivska, Shylivskyy forest, Tysovyy ravine are belonged to the natural historical sites of state-level importance.

According to branch structure of production the region belongs to industrial and agricultural category.

Production of oil and natural gas processing equipment is dominant in machine building industry, in forestry and wood-working industry – production of saw-timber, furniture; in bulding materials industry – production of brick, tile, ceramics, metal-concrete constructions; in light industry – production of sewed and knitted goods, cotton fabriques; in food industry – production of sugar, bakery, liquor, butter, meat, milk, fruit and vegetable canning.

Above 200 industrial enterprises represent the industrial potential of the region. Its volume of production is 0,4% of general state volume of production.

The food industry is particularly developed and has the considerable source of raw materials. Almost the quarter of total industry’s staff is engaged there and the fifth of capital assets is concentrated there.

The food industry of Bukovyna is represented by enterprises which produce: meat products – 34,5% of total volume of production in the food industry, sugar – 12,4%, bread and bakery products – 9,9%, confectionery – 9,6%, drinks – 9,2%, milk products – 6,2%, fats – 4,1%, vegetables and fruits working – 9,4%.

The considerable part of the region’s industrial complex is light industry. It takes the third place in the structure of industry’s branches and creates the domestic consumer’s market. The branch is represented by 23 enterprises. The priority-driven place in the light industry take enterprises in sewing of ready-made clothes, shoes production and the enterprises of textile industry.

The machine building industry, repair and assembling of machines and equipment are highly developed. The branch is represented by 13 enterprises which are mainly specialized in production of machines and equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical equipment.

Forests are of great importance for economics and social development of the region. They are the source of wood and products of non-woody plants. The total area of forests is 25 800 ha. Spruce, beech, oak, hombeam, ash, birch are the basic forest-forming species. The average age of plants is 60 years. There are the annual works in renewal of forests on the area of 1,3 thousand hectares. It helps to increase the forest fund and forest’s productivity. That’s why the wood-working industry is widely developed and is one of the oldest branches. The branch takes the sixth place for volumes of industrial production and is represented by 36 enterprises that makes 15,8% of total quantity of the region’s enterprises.

A considerable scientific potential is concentrated in the region. The following scientific research institutes are presently functioning: The Institute of Thermoelectronics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Chernivtsi branches of The Institute of the World Economy and International Relations of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, The Institute of Materialistics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Chernivtsi branches of Land Management Institute and Kyiyv Institute of Automatics.

The higher education is offered in Chernivtsi Yuri Fedkovych National University, Bukovynian State Medical Academy, Chernivtsi College of Kyiyv University of Trade and Economics, Bukovynian Institute of Finances and Economics, Institute of Economics and Law, State Polytechnical University.

Such art industries and carpet, wooden articles production and decorative sewing are developped in Bukovyna.

Chernivtsi region is a favourable region for multi-profile summer and winter mountain sport tourism, recreational and health activities and a balneological recovery center.

For its geographical location, rich recreational resources and economic potential Chernivtsi oblast is an attractive region for development of interregional and international cooperation.

The export and import operations of the region’s enterprises with the distant foreign countries predominate in the foreign economic connections. Foreign trade turnover of goods and services was 98705.29 thousand USD or 76.11% of total turnover of goods. Export of goods and services was 52675.97 thousand USD (72.17% of total export), import – 46029.32 thousand USD (81.20% of total import). Main trade partners from these countries are Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland . There is the increase of turnover of goods with Austria, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Romania, San-Marino, Slovenia, Hungary, France, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Israel, China, Republic of Korea, Turkey, Canada and the USA.

The volumes of turnover with the countries of CIS are 30975.39 thousand USD or 23.89% of total turnover of goods, export – 20318.11 thousand USD (27.83% of total export), import – 10657.28 thousand USD (18.80% of total import). There was the increase of volumes of foreign trade with such partners as Republic of Bilorussia, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Republic of Moldova, Tadgijkistan, Turkmenistan.

The structure of export and import of goods influences the level and efficiency of foreign trade connections. There are such goods in the total structure of goods as : textile and textile products, wood and its products, machines and equipment, vegetable products, base metals and its products, meat and food sub-products. Such goods as textile and textile products, machines and equipment, mineral products, polymeric materials, plastic, base metals and its products are imported to the region.

The investment activity is one of the directions of the foreign economic activity. The total volume of foreign investments into the region’s economics in 2002 was 15.38 million USD, including direct foreign investments – 15.04 million USD, portfolio foreign investments – 0.34 million USD.

Direct foreign investments are in 107 enterprises of different property forms with total amount 15.01 million USD, including 92 joint ventures with amount 11.12 million USD. The leading place for investments volumes takes Chernivtsi – 11.0 million USD or 72.2% of total amount.

The attractive branches for foreign investors are: real estate activities, wood-working industry, health protection, physical training and social maintenance, material support and market, transport and connection.

The greatest part of foreign investments (94.6%) is received from distant foreign countries, 5.4% – from the countries CIS. Among the world countries the leaders for volumes of investments are the USA , Israel, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Cyprus, Virgin islands.

We invite the foreign firms and companies to advantageous cooperation and active investment activity.