Business news

3 Feb 2022

Belarus’ foreign trade surplus hit record high of $4bn in 2021

An archive photo

MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) – Last year’s accomplishments created opportunities for further economic growth. Belarusian Deputy Economy Minister Dmitry Yaroshevich made the statement as he delivered a report at a session of the united club of directors “Belarus economy in 2022 and in the medium term: Trends, priorities, challenges, and risks”, the press service of the Belarusian Economy Ministry told BelTA.

Dmitry Yaroshevich noted that the Economy Ministry kept in mind last year’s accomplishments as it projected the country’s development in 2022. “The economy grew by 2.3%, which was ahead of the projections. It is universally acknowledged that external demand was the main driver of growth. The private sector and enterprises exploited it successfully. The foreign trade surplus hit a record high of $4 billion. It represents a firm foundation of our stability at the macrolevel. We see that the world economy has adapted to COVID-19 as a whole: output figures are on the rise, vacant market niches are explored, logistic chains are being rebuilt. This is why export remains a most important growth point in 2022, too. We intend to increase earnings up to $53 billion, increase deliveries of goods and services by 6.3%,” he said.

In his words, sustainable long-term economic growth is impossible without investments. “There are two pillars. First, the organizations’ own money. Reinvesting some of the revenues in business development is a wise business scheme. Today the life itself encourages enterprises to do it. Second, we borrow the world’s best practices to improve Belarusian legislation and thus increase the appeal of our jurisdiction for domestic and foreign investors. In order to allow the private sector to more confidently plan development and more boldly realize promising initiatives, we’ve amended the laws on investments and free economic zones as well as Belarus president ordinance No.10. We expect investments to rise by 3.3% as a result of our investment policy in 2022,” the deputy economy minister said.

Explaining the connection between investments and entrepreneurship development, Dmitry Yaroshevich stressed that support for domestic, bona fide entrepreneurs and creating a comfortable environment for them represent unwavering priorities of the government policy.

“Costs remain the key matter for the private sector. This is why within the framework of Belarus president decree No.240 we continue reducing the administrative burden by optimizing administrative procedures, facilitating them, and converting them into the digital format. The availability of a clear-cut and transparent algorithm for promptly carrying out the procedures really saves time and money for entrepreneurs. Similar approaches will be assimilated into the new revision of the law on licensing. The improvement of the business climate in addition to smart export strategies of enterprises represents an important reserve for raising revenues of individuals. We expect these revenues to continue growing in real terms, which means above the inflation, in order to reach 2%. The dynamics specified by the 2025 program will be secured over the course of two years,” the official stated.

In conclusion Dmitry Yaroshevich reminded that the program on social and economic development and the government’s action program for the period till 2025 remain the roadmaps for the medium term. An analysis of their fulfillment in 2021 is on the agenda. Measures will be taken to ensure the unconditional achievement of the goals the documents specify as a result of the analysis.



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