MINSK, 4 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian economy reached a steady growth trajectory in Q1 2021. It inspires cautious optimism. Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made the statement after delivering a report to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 4 May, BelTA has learned.
The prime minister said: “Results of the first quarter inspire cautious optimism as diplomats put it. The economy reached a steady growth trajectory virtually in all the indicators.”
As a particularly positive fact he mentioned the growth had been secured not only by conventional export sectors such as oil refining and potash industry but also by the manufacturing industry. The manufacturing industry's growth rate exceeded 109% a bit while the IT sector demonstrated growth rate as high as 103.5% in Q1 2021, Roman Golovchenko said.
Roman Golovchenko also stressed that positive dynamics is observed in all the financial indicators: the gross profit of the Belarusian economy totaled Br1.8 billion in Q1 2021, with earnings up by 20% and profit on sales up by 30% in comparison with Q1 2020. The profit margin is also on the rise.
In Q1 2021 earnings of individuals rose by 5.4% in real terms (adjusted by inflation). Pensions rose by 3.4%, with the average retirement pension reaching Br500. It means that the economy operates rather effectively. “Despite alarmist claims on the part of either people with superficial knowledge or people who pursue specific destructive information goals as they try to sow mistrust in the economic situation in the country and actions of the government,” Roman Golovchenko noted.
The prime minister is convinced that indicators of the Belarusian economy's performance in Q1 2021 give reasons to be optimistic about the future. “We expect quite good growth indicators in H1 2021 provided there is no essential negative influence from some new factors,” he summed up.
