Top 5 Exporting Goods from Belarus

Despite political sanctions, Belarus export to EU countries rises. Belarus’ export to the European Union countries reached 7.8 billion dollars in Jan-Apr 2012, says The National Statistics Committee. It is almost twice as much as last year. Belarus’ positive balance of foreign trade has reached 1 024 million dollars in Jan-Apr 2012. The total foreign trade volume has risen to 15.2 billion dollars.

Top 5 goods exported from Belarus in 2012:

1. Oil products
2. Potassium and potash fertilizers
3. Auto trucks
4. Milk and dairy products
5. Tractors and farm equipment

The main trade partners for Belarus are:

1. Russia – 48%
2. Netherlands – 12,9%
3. Ukraine – 6,8%
4. Latvia – 5,3%
5. Germany – 4,2%
6. Poland – 2,3%
7. China – 2,3%
8. Italy – 1,8%
9. Lithuania – 1,5%
10. Kazakhstan – 0,9%

Leonid Zaiko, head of the analytic centre “Strategy”, believes that Belarus should concentrate on exporting dairy and meat products that are 5 and 6 times respectively as expensive as oil products. Dairy products, car spare parts, furniture and footwear may become the principal income items in the near future.

As part of the Customs Union, Belarus will have to integrate into the forming competitive space, which may be challenging to the country’s economy. “Some of the enterprises in Belarus are noncompetitive, judging by the expenses they incur,” says L. Zaiko. Small and medium-size enterprises may become the means of solving this problem as businessmen will have to pay for their own mistakes.