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Ukraine’s economy grew by 4.2% this summer y-o-y, indicating that the spring growth rate of 4.6% was not a fluke. First-quarter GDP growth was 2.5%, according to the State Statistics Service. The National Bank of Ukraine and the Economic Development Ministry recently upgraded their 2019 GDP forecasts to 3.5%. This would be triple the 1.1% forecast EU growth rate for 2019.

Through October, Ukrainian ports handled 20% more cargo than during the same 10 months last year, report the Sea Ports Authority. This is the biggest jump in six years and dwarfs last year’s increase of 2%. With bigger ships docking at Ukraine’s ports, the number of vessels was up only 2%, to 9,813.

Driving cargo to 130 million tons, grain exports were up 37%, to 44 million tons, and iron ore exports were up 33%, to 30.5 million tons. With dredging work complete at the nation’s five largest ports, the growth champions were: Pivdenyi (Yuzhne) +28% to 44 million tons; Mykolaiv + 20% to 27 million tons; Chernomorsk +23% to 21.1 million tons; and Odessa +19% to 20.7 million tons. On the Azov, Mariupol reversed a five-year decline and registered a 5.5% increase in cargo, to 5.3 million tons.