Opinions & Interviews

PM: Belarus' economy is better off compared to regional economies

Roman Golovchenko

MINSK, 2 November (BelTA) - Belarus' economic performance in January-September are not bad, and the state of the economy is generally better off compared to neighboring countries, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko told the media after the meeting with the head of state, BelTA has learned.

“I reported to the president about the economic results in January-September. They are not bad, although the conditions are quite difficult. The recovery of the world economy from the COVID-19 pandemic has been unfortunately delayed due to the second wave,”the prime minister said. "In general, I would say that the Belarusian economy is better off compared to the region's economy as a whole, including thanks to the measures to support the economy.”

Roman Golovchenko also reported to the president about the government's vision regarding the results of the year. "Of course, the target to achieve economic growth is quite ambitious. For that we need to find additional resources. With the neighboring economies falling, from 4%, 5% to 9%, to achieve economic growth is, of course, a difficult goal but achievable given favorable circumstances. The government is determined to fulfill this task," the prime minister said. He explained that such circumstances imply the absence of a full lockdown and tighter quarantine measures among the main trading and economic partners of Belarus. "We hope that the contraction of the economy will not be too strong, because we are very tied to foreign markets," Roman Golovchenko said.

According to him, the GDP growth rate for the three quarters is comparable to the same period of 2019. "In fact, we see that after a small decline in the second quarter the Belarusian economy is now moving fairly steadily towards the goal of reaching the GDP relative to the level of 2019," the prime minister said.

He specified that sectors such as construction, agriculture and finances are showing growth. "We managed to sell warehouse stocks by almost half a billion," the prime minister added. “A surplus of foreign trade is $1.2 billion. That's a good indicator." However, the services sector in healthcare, sport and tourism has not been expanding.

As for the inflation target of 5%, the prime minister suggested viewing any single digit (i.e. up to 10%) as a good result given the circumstances. He pointed to the decline of the Russian ruble and its impact on the prices of goods imported to Belarus, fluctuations in the Belarusian ruble exchange rate. "We are carefully looking at what is happening in the price market and taking action. But, of course, it is wrong to administer prices directly. There are positions that are controlled and regulated by the state," Roman Golovchenko said.

Journalists asked the prime minister to comment on the situation at the enterprises where there were attempts to stage a strike. “I can confirm once again that absolutely all enterprises, large and medium-sized, operate in an usual mode. I visited some recently and saw firsthand that the enterprises are working, fulfilling production plans. It is just some information resources that are trying to pain some picture to cause the illusion of some processes. In reality all enterprises are working.”

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