National News

Balance, $425m surplus of Belarus' foreign trade pointed out

The country's foreign trade is balanced. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas pointed out the fact during the government conference hosted by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 23 April to discuss top-priority measures meant to secure the steady operation of the economy and the social sphere amid the pandemic, BelTA has learned.

Sergei Rumas mentioned some figures. In particular, he said the country's foreign trade is balanced because the surplus of foreign trade in merchandise and services amounted to $425 million in January-February 2020.

The head of government noted that the GDP growth rate totaled 99.7% in Q1 2020. The figure is one percentage point below the quarterly target, yet it is above all the foreign and domestic projections. The government focused on developing domestic branches of the economy in conditions of the pandemic.

According to Sergei Rumas, the civil engineering industry made a positive contribution to the GDP. This industry demonstrated a growth rate of 106.3%, with housing construction 10% up. Agriculture (104.5%), informatization and communications industry (107.4%) contributed positively as well. The prime minister also drew attention to the operation of the branches of the manufacturing sector that rely on local raw materials. He also mentioned metallurgy, woodworking industry, and pharmaceutics. Cement production increased by 10% while ceramic tile production went up by 2%.

“All the other sectors also demonstrated positive dynamics. Each and every industry showed growth in February and March. Except the oil industry, which started growing in April due to objective reasons,” he noted.