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Elimination of foreign trade deficit is becoming political issue, Lukashenka says

 

The elimination of the foreign trade deficit is going from the economic category to the political one, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said Friday, speaking at a national conference on the theme of “Import Substitution as a Key Factor for Achieving the Balanced Development of the Economy of the Republic of Belarus.”

The number one task of the entire government is to achieve an export surplus, the Belarusian leader stressed, according to the presidential press office.

Mr. Lukashenka pointed out that Belarus’ potential is high enough to reach an export surplus of $1.5 billion, and that this level would guarantee economic stability in the country.

Each instance of unreasonable importation would be viewed as an extremely serious offense, he stressed.
The government should not try to organize the manufacture of substitutes for imports if this seems to be economically unjustified, but the import substitution program should cover at least 60 percent of non-essential imports, he said.

He directed that Belarus’ export of goods and services should increase 2.2 times during the current five-year period (ending in 2015), that no less than 60 to 65 percent of the total industrial output should be sold abroad, and that the energy intensity of GDP be reduced by one-third before 2016.

Mr. Lukashenka stressed that a policy of rigid economy should be applied to all central and local expenditures, and that the government should ensure a 1.5-2-percent decrease in the import intensity of production every year.

Mr. Lukashenka also noted that there are all necessary resources to achieve the projected five-percent GDP growth in 2012. “This will be our answer to the domestic and external critics of our economic policy,” he said, noting that government officials would be personally responsible for meeting the 2012 economic targets.
“Your failures will be punished with all severity, as this is a matter of survival,” he warned. //BelaPAN