Business news

MINSK, 31 March (BelTA) – The National Statistics Committee of Belarus named top five Belarusian products exported to Russia in 2016. These were milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, trucks, tractors and truck-tractors, and plastic containers, BelTA has learned.

Besides, the Belarusian main exports to Russia are cars, component parts for cars and tractors, furniture, refrigerators, freezers and freezing equipment. Belarus’ mainly imports Russian oil and oil products, natural and liquefied gas, ferrous metals, electricity, cars, pipes from ferrous metals.

Russia is Belarus’ major trading partner accounting for 46.2% of the country’s total exports in 2016. The import from Russia made up 55.5% of the country’s aggregate imports last year. The foreign trade with Russia soared four times since 1996 to reach $26.1 billion in 2016 ($6.5 billion in 1996). In 2016 Belarus exported $10.8 billion worth of products to the Russian Federation, which is 3.6 times up from 1996. The import of goods went up 4.3 times to make up $15.3 billion.

According to the statistics, Russia is leading with its investment among the foreign-funded companies in Belarus (there were almost 2,500 Russian-funded companies as of late 2016).

The two countries mark the Day of Unity of Peoples of Belarus and Russia on 2 April. In 1996 in Moscow the Presidents of Russia and Belarus signed the treaty on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Russia and Belarus which laid foundation for the foundation of the Union State.