MINSK, 29 July (BelTA) - The industrial sector has secured the main contribution to economic growth in Belarus, Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov said in an interview to Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“In January-May 2021, the country's GDP showed a strong growth of 3.3%. We expected such a result. The industrial sector provided the major contribution to these figures, accounting for almost 80% of the overall growth. This is thanks mainly to the growing markets - our enterprises have orders for the next two or three months. Manufacturing will continue its growth,” said Aleksandr Chervyakov.
According to the economy minister, the transport sector has also showed momentum “The sector is demonstrating growth as well. We have fully restored passenger transportation flows, despite restrictions from the EU. We have turned our flows to the east and are gaining momentum," he said.
According to Aleksandr Chervyakov, the Belarusian economy stays ahead. “We are not waiting for sanctions to hit us really hard. Here it is important to be proactive. We are working on new markets, including Russia, China, Turkey, India, and Africa. They are growing fast, and we can sell our products there. To date, the share of Belarusian exports in the Russian Federation is about 5.8%. We are actively working on the Chinese market. We are working with experts on a list of goods that we can supply there. Some 69% of Belarusian goods that go to Europe can be supplied to China, too. We do not intend to reduce our presence in the European markets - we will do our best to stay there,” the minister stressed.