MINSK, 18 February (BelTA) – Belarus' commodity export expanded by 36.7% in 2021, the biggest growth since 2012, Belarus' Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said at a meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus on 18 February, BelTA has learned.
“Foreign economic activities have been and remain our most important priority and the efficiency criterion. The last two years - 2020 and 2021 – were not like any other years for our country in terms of foreign trade,” the minister said.
According to him, the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2020 has completely changed traditional global production and sales chains; markets closed, manufacturing in developed countries was put on hold for several months, exhibitions and fairs were suspended, business visits and meetings moved online. As a result of the new economic reality, global trade shrank by 9.6% in 2020. Belarusian export of goods decreased by 11.9%.
