MINSK, 3 June (BelTA) – The launch of the digital platform for import substitution will help adapt the Belarusian economy to the sanctions-fueled restrictions fast. Belarusian Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov made the statement as he visited the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE), BelTA has learned.
The Economy Ministry had previously teamed up with major state-run industrial enterprises and the private sector in order to initiate the creation of a digital platform for import substitution. The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange has managed to create one. The platform is online and popular. Over 500 deals have already been sealed.
Aleksandr Chervyakov hailed the digital platform as a new step in import substitution efforts in Belarus. He remarked that import substitution efforts proceed in three directions. Firstly, eight industry-specific subgroups operate under the aegis of the Belarusian Industry Ministry and the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry. They take care of automobile and agricultural machinery engineering, machine tools engineering, electronics, light and chemical industry, pharmaceutics, fuel and energy equipment engineering.
Secondly, the Economy Ministry together with the Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs organizes meetings with representatives of major state enterprises and private businesses in the regions. Such business matchmaking sessions help find business partners, make small and medium businesses part of manufacturing cooperation chains involving industrial giants. “By doing it, we fulfill the head of state's instruction to involve SMEs in import substitution and manufacturing cooperation,” Aleksandr Chervyakov stated.
Launching an online platform able to link consumers of imports from unfriendly countries with those, who can offer substitutes or start making domestic analogs using their own manufacturing facilities, is the third direction of the import substitution efforts.
The three-tier system will allow accelerating import substitution processes, negate external restrictions, will allow enterprises to find niches for their products and create new manufacturing facilities, the economy minister summed it up.
In his words, it is necessary to more actively encourage state enterprises and private businesses to use the digital platform. It will be a significant step in establishing manufacturing cooperation between enterprises. It will allow more quickly adapting the Belarusian economy to the sanctions-fueled restrictions and bolstering its resilience.
