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Minister: More businesses report positive expectations in Belarus

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MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – Positive economic sentiments among industrial enterprises are growing, Belarus’ Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov told BelTA.

"In March of this year, the Economy Ministry polled chief executives of industrial enterprises of various forms of ownership. We covered about 80% of industrial production capacities. Overall result: positive expectations of business are growing. The industrial confidence index has moved into a positive territory for the first time in 12 years. Positive answers prevail than negative ones," Aleksandr Chervyakov said.

According to him, this optimism is due to the increase in industrial production in March. More than 40% of companies reported an increase in output.

"Demand has bounced back, almost a third of the answers confirm this. A quarter of the respondents reported that demand in foreign markets has been growing too,” the minister said. “The average capacity utilization across the industry was 65% in March, with every fourth company using more than 80% of its capacity."

The pandemic ranked lower (from 31% down to 27%) in the list of negative factors.

As for the near-term expectations, chief executives said they are generally optimistic. "42% of the surveyed predict production growth, only 7% - a decline. The majority of respondents believe that employment will not decrease in the next month," the head of the Economy Ministry explained.

Aleksandr Chervyakov added that demand is expected to increase both in foreign and domestic markets. This opinion is shared by 35% of respondents. 54% projected it to remain at the current level.

"In general, a quarter of the respondents predict an improvement in the financial situation of their enterprises in the next month. About 60% of managers believe that it will remain at the current level," the minister said.

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