BORISOV, 22 June (BelTA) – The Belarusian furniture manufacturer Slonimmebel will sell a test batch of furniture to Sudan, BelTA learned from Gennady Dikovitsky, Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian timber, woodworking, pulp and paper industry concern Bellesbumprom, as he visited the Borisov-based chemical company Lesohimik.
Speaking about the expansion of target markets for Bellesbumprom companies, the official mentioned that Slonimmebel is getting ready to sell a batch of furniture to Sudan. It is a test batch designed to determine optimal prices for Slonimmebel furniture in Sudan. Apart from that, the possibility of making pulp and paper in Sudan is being looked into. The Sudanese side is handling the technical analysis of the project.
After visiting Bellesbumprom enterprises representatives of Ethiopian business circles expressed interest in considering the possibility of buying Belarusian premium furniture and woodworking products such as doors and sawn timber. Apart from that, Bellesbumprom together with the Association of Woodworking Enterprises is preparing a visit of a Belarusian delegation to Egypt where prospects of cooperation to establish a woodworking cluster in Egypt will be determined. The visit is tentatively scheduled for July 2018.
In January-April 2017 companies run by Bellesbumprom mainly sold their products to Russia ($45.2 million), Poland ($22 million), Lithuania ($8.7 million), Ukraine ($7.7 million), Kazakhstan ($6.8 million), Azerbaijan ($3.1 million), Germany ($3 million), Hungary ($2.2 million), and Latvia ($2.1 million). In 2017 new target markets were added to the list of Bellesbumprom's export destinations: Iraq, Canada, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mongolia, the UAE, Syria, and Sri Lanka.
In January-April 2017 Bellesbumprom companies reported foreign trade volume as high as $158.4 million, with export at $117.1 million and import at $41.3 million. In comparison with January-April 2016 the merchandise growth rate totaled 96.6% in terms of actual prices, with the export growth rate at 143% and import growth rate at 50.4%.
