MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – The trade between Belarus and Primorye Territory has grown 3.5 times over three years, Governor of Primorye Territory Oleg Kozhemyako said as he met with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, BelTA has learned.
“In general, we are doing quite good economically,” the Russian governor said. He attributed it to the increase in trade with the East, which resulted in bigger workloads for ports of Primorye Territory. For example, several dozen containers have recently been sent through the ports of Vladivostok upon the order of the Belarusian car manufacturer Geely.
“So far, our economy is working steadily. Of course, there are some issues related to import substitution. But we are working on them,” Oleg Kozhemyako noted. He emphasized that the trade between Belarus and Primorye Territory has grown 3.5 times over three years and the growth trend is expected to remain in place this year.
The deliveries of Belarusian food products to Primorye Territory have significantly increased, the governor informed. According to him, they have grown eight times from 2019 to 2021. And by the end of 2022, this growth will be even bigger. “Residents of Primorye Territory appeared to like Belarusian products,” he said.
The governor also spoke about cooperation with industrial enterprises. In particular, in January-October 2022, Primorye Territory purchased about 109 units of equipment, including 21 BelAZ vehicles with the carrying capacity of 130 tonnes. Work is underway to create a service center where about 40 units of various Belarus-made equipment will be presented at one site.
Belarus trade and economic cooperation with Russia's Primorye Territory has been rapidly developing in recent years. The trade went up from $17.3 million in 2020 to $32.7 million in 2021. In January-September 2022, it soared by another 80% year-on-year to about $40 million. Exports more than doubled and reached $32.5 million. Belarus' main exports to Primorye Territory include trucks, defense and security products, equipment and devices for filtering liquids or gases, cheese and cottage cheese, butter and cream, construction plastic. The bulk of imports from Primorye Territory are component parts and accessories for automobiles and tractors, medicines, flour made from meat by-products and fish, boron oxides, and electric batteries.
The Russian region has established cooperation with many industrial enterprises of Belarus. In January-September 2022 Minsk Electrotechnical Plant named after V.I. Kozlov exported power transformers worth $1.6 million to the Russian region (up 7.4 times year-on-year). In the summer, this Belarusian company signed a memorandum with the Ussuriysk auto repair plant to organize assembly production of power transformers in Primorye Territory.
