Business news

MINSK, 4 March (BelTA) - The Government of Belarus seeks to increase the trade with Russia’s Bashkortostan up to $1.4 billion within the next three years, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said as he met with Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan of Russia Dmitry Sharonov, BelTA has learnt.

“We have put an ambitious task before the Belarusian-Bashkortostan commission to increase the bilateral trade to $1.4 billion in a three-year term,” Vladimir Semashko said.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Belarus imported products worth of $417 million from Bashkortostan in 2015 (up 26.5% over 2014), and exported $102.5 million worth of goods (which accounts for 79.3% as against 2014). Total trade between Bashkortostan and Belarus exceeded $519 million last year, which was up 13.2% from a year earlier.

According to Vladimir Semashko, Belarus can offer high-quality equipment to Bashkortostan (including farm machines, logging, and road construction), products of the petrochemical industry, agriculture, and foodstuffs. “We are ready to consider supplies of meat, milk and related products,” he added.

Vladimir Semashko drew the attention of the Bashkortostan delegation that Belarus has a strong construction industry. “We have unused capacities. If there is a need, we are ready to undertake any project on a turn-key basis,” Vladimir Semashko said. He underlined that the Belarusian side has all possibilities for this.

In 2015 Belarus’ major exports to Bashkortostan were refrigerators and freezers ($39.8 million), wood-particle boards ($8.6 million), fiberglass ($4.4 million) and also powdered and condensed milk, complex synthetic threads, trucks, pipes and profiles made of ferrous metals, washing machines, footwear and other goods. Belarus’ main import items from Bashkortostan were oil, carbonates, caustic soda, hydrocarbons.