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Economy ministry concerned that fall in exports outpaces decrease in imports

 

The economy ministry is concerned that exports have been falling at a faster pace than imports this year, Deputy Minister Alyaksandr Yarashenka told reporters in Minsk on August 8.

He said that exports had fallen by 24 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2013, while imports had decreased by only 10 percent. "We need to work on that problem," he added.

From January through May, Belarus had a $304-million export surplus in foreign trade in goods and services. The country had a $931-million deficit in trade in goods and an export surplus of $1.2 billion in trade in services, Mr. Yarashenka said.

The deputy minister announced that Belarus had a net foreign currency inflow of $450 million in the first five months of the year.

The ministry linked the dramatic drop in exports to a 30-percent year-on-year fall in exports of petroleum products, a 41-percent plunge in truck exports and a 24-percent fall in tractor exports. / BelaPAN