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Defense industry’s output said to have almost doubled in 2012

The aggregate output of the companies and organizations under the authority of the State Defense Industry Committee increased by 80 percent in 2012, Syarhey Hurulyow, head of the Committee, told reporters in Minsk on Thursday.

Mr. Hurulyow noted that export proceeds increased by almost 130 percent in 2012, and that the defense industry had a surplus in foreign trade. "Despite the fact that the market changes and competition increases, we are still present in the markets of the countries with which we are allowed to have trade relations” he said. “These are the countries that are not subject to United Nations sanctions. We haven't broken any sanction."

According to Mr. Hurulyow, the Committee's industrial companies earned the equivalent of over $24,000 per employee in 2012, while its scientific research companies’ revenues averaged about $37,000 per employee, with the aggregate per-employee revenue exceeding $28,000.

The defense industry’s fixed capital expenditures totaled more than 200 billion rubels last year, which made it possible to modernize production facilities and equipment and introduce new technological processes, Mr. Hurulyow said, noting that purchases of new equipment and vehicles accounted for 72 percent of all fixed capital expenditures.

The defense industry reduced its energy consumption by 7.5 percent last year, whereas the target was five percent, with the main contributors to the reduction being Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant, AAT Tekhnika Suvyazi (communications equipment manufacturer) and AAT Ahat, Mr. Hurulyow said.

He pointed out that the rise in labor productivity in the defense industry outpaced the wage growth. //BelaPAN