Business news

MINSK, 16 February (BelTA) – Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko commended the work of the organizations run by the Belarusian Industry Ministry in 2016 as he talked to the media ahead of the final board meeting of the ministry on 16 February, BelTA has learned.

“The Industry Ministry has been performing quite well over the past three years. Last year, they boosted the industrial output by 4.2% calculated based on the physical volume index, and increased the export by 3.2%. If we compare the results of January 2017 against the same month last year, the industrial production went up by 13% and the export by 20%. The figures indicate that we have started recovering from the crisis,” Vladimir Semashko noted.

In general, the industrial production in Belarus was at the level of 99.6% in 2016 as against a year earlier. “Russia reduced oil supply by 5 million tonnes in the second half of last year. That was the reason why Belneftekhim Concern underperformed and why the industrial production was at such a level. If Belneftekhim had enough oil, the industrial production figures would have been somewhere at the level of 101.1%,” Vladimir Semashko said.