MINSK, 19 January (BelTA) – According to the latest data, enterprises run by the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry increased their export in 2016, BelTA learned from Alexei Bogdanov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, on 19 January.
In January-November 2016 export by enterprises accountable to the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry totaled 99.5% as against 2015. “There is no data for the entire year of 2016, but according to what we have on our hands, we expect export growth rate to reach 100.5-101%,” said Alexei Bogdanov. He pointed out that the increase had been secured thanks to higher export in natural terms.
The official said: “Prices in 2016 were lower than prices in 2015. If we talk about average prices in January-November 2016, then prices for meat and meat products dropped by 10.5%, prices for potato went down by 41%. Prices for eggs fell by 10% and prices for flour decreased by 7.7%. It took a lot of effort to increase export. It was necessary to turn out more products. At the end of the year the growth rate of the gross product in all types of agricultural enterprises totaled 103.4%.”
According to the source, enterprises run by the Ministry exported $2.059 billion worth of merchandise in January-November 2016. Their export in January-December 2016 is expected to reach $2.25 billion. “The figures do not represent the entire volume of agricultural products Belarus exported. Only the products exported by enterprises of the Agriculture and Food Ministry. Enterprises run by the state food industry concern Belgospishcheprom and the Belarusian National Union of Consumer Societies (Belkoopsoyuz) also sell their products abroad,” explained Alexei Bogdanov.
The export of meat and dairy products, eggs, flour, and gelatin increased. In physical terms the export of poultry meat increased by 10.5%, the export of pork rose by 5.3 times, sausage export soared by 65.5%, ready-made meat products rose by 24%, cheese and quark went up 14.3%, whey powder and concentrates increased by 12.4%. “Pork export was the main driver because we had such a low baseline figure. We have recovered after African swine fever, we have commissioned new facilities, this is why export has increased,” said the Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.
The official emphasized that enterprises of the Agriculture and Food Ministry increased the export of ready-made meat products instead of raw materials. “It influences our image. The products are available on store shelves, customers recognize their quality and Belarus' recognition is improving,” noted Alexei Bogdanov.
Speaking about the geography of export of Belarusian agricultural products, the official said that in January-November 2016 exports went to 61 countries, up from 52 countries in 2015. “Russia still accounts for the bulk of the export — 94.5%. In January-November 2016 we exported $1.946 billion worth of merchandise to Russia. We traded with all the regions of Russia but the bulk of the export went to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow Oblast,” said Alexei Bogdanov.
Other CIS states accounted for 3.8% of the export. Export to Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan increased. “It is remarkable that export from Belarus to Ukraine soared by 3.2 times. Before 2014 Ukraine was the second largest export destination. We are glad we are managing to restore trade and economic ties little by little,” stressed Alexei Bogdanov.
The official said that non-CIS states account for only about 2% of the total export. In 2016 Belarus managed to increase export to Belgium by 7.3%, Bulgaria by 100%, Hungary by 80%, Spain by 340%, Netherlands by 30%, Romania by 140%, Slovenia by 200%, and France by 400%. “The percentages look fantastic but in money terms the sums are not very large because our baseline figures are low. But we have to start somewhere. It is difficult to work with the European Union due to domestic market protection mechanisms over there. For instance, customs duties raise prices for our dairy products by 100%,” he stated. Apart from that, export to Georgia increased by 30%.
According to Alexei Bogdanov, enterprises run by the Agriculture and Food Ministry did quite well with regard to Asia and Oceania. Export increased by 2% from 2015 to $11 million. “The sum is small but we see growth. We increased export to Vietnam by three times, India by 1.3 times, Pakistan by 12%, and the Philippines by 1.4 times. One has to remember that logistics is complicated and competition is tough in these countries,” he explained. Export to African countries increased by 5.1 times. In 2016 the enterprises run by the Agriculture and Food Ministry started exporting to seven new countries in Africa.
Belarusian enterprises exported flax fiber, casein, leather, meat and dairy products, flour, baby food, ethyl alcohol, live fish, and malt beer to non-CIS states in 2016.
“In January-November 2016 the surplus of foreign trade reached $1,783.5 million, up $123.7 million from the same period of 2015,” concluded Alexei Bogdanov.
