MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) - Belarusian producers take advantage of the global market trends and increase exports, Belarusian First Deputy Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel on 23 May, BelTA has learned.
“We study experts' opinions and market dynamics. They say that a new price boom is looming. It is really visible. Isn't a good opportunity for our producers to manufacture more and sell more in foreign markets? Our exports across all major commodity groups are already in the positive zone both in terms of physical growth and price. We are taking this opportunity and export more," Yuri Chebotar said. He believes that local manufactures should tap into the current situation and market more expensive goods.
According to Yuri Chebotar, in the first quarter of this year, food exports grew by 5% and amounted to about $1.5 billion. "This is a good figure. At the end of the five-year period we are looking to hit $7 billion. I think that given the current possibilities it is quite achievable," he added.
"We are not satisfied with the fall in investment that we saw at the beginning of the year. We are working on a national infrastructure plan categorizing all our basic infrastructure (transport, social, energy, etc.) in order to see where and how much we need to build and which sources of financing to tap. Today the regions are expected to build such infrastructure and find sources of funding. The second area is investment commercial projects. We are also working together with the regions, have already outlined more than 600 such projects, and together with the regions are monitoring them to make sure there are no failures," the first deputy minister said.
According to him, the areas where social and economic development is legging behind have been identified. "These are about 30 districts. Certain measures have been taken. We are working to attract investment there and implement new projects. Another area is the development of the Chernobyl districts. Today, we are drawing up on an appropriate development program. I think that we will present its draft for consideration by the autumn,” Yuri Chebotar noted.
