Ministry: Belarusian industry has been growing for third consecutive month

MINSK, 16 December (BelTA) - The Belarusian industry has been growing for the third consecutive month, the ministry's press service told BelTA with reference to Belarusian First Deputy Economy Minister Yuri Chebotar.

According to the National Statistical Committee, the GDP in January-November, as well as a month earlier, amounted to 95.3%. Yuri Chebotar attributed these figures largely to the steady performance of the industrial complex.

"Production inched up by 0.4% over October. Positive dynamics in the industry has been in place for the third month in a row. Big contributors are the country's mechanical engineering flagships that have been posting double-digit growth ates. They manufacture high-tech innovative products with high added value. Agriculture retains its momentum. The construction industry is on recovery too, thanks the fulfillment of the annual housing construction target. Transport has been reviving as well on the heels of higher passenger traffic," Yuri Chebotar noted.

According to him, enterprises have been posting good qualitative indicators. Return on sales in the economy as a whole was 8.9%, net profit increased by 12.2%, revenue is growing faster than costs. As a result, the number and share of unprofitable organizations continue to decline.

"The foreign trade surplus is at $4.2 billion; both trade in goods and also in services performed well. This has had a stabilizing effect on the financial market. The above trends, coupled with the efforts to harness the growth reserves in other sectors, will provide the economy with a powerful breakthrough in December," Yuri Chebotar emphasized.