Building materials one-third cheaper

Ukrainian DIYers can currently carry out their planned extensions more cheaply as a result of inconsistencies in the building materials sector. Here the economic crisis has caused prices to fall by up to 30 per cent, even though the production of some building materials fell by almost half last year, according to information from the state statistical committee. Only in the case of tiles was there a 7.3 per cent increase in production on the previous year. In the assessment of Iwan Saliy, executive chairman of the Ukrainian association of building materials manufacturers, the building materials market now depends on how the infrastructure develops following the presidential election. He estimates that it will take at least two to three years to get back to the level reached prior to the crisis.