MINSK, 19 November (BelTA) – It is necessary to increase production and minimize transportation costs in order to increase export to far-arc countries, BelTA learned from Director of the National Marketing Center of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Valery Sadokho during the seminar the center hosted on 19 November to discuss peculiarities and opportunities for doing business in Belarus.
Valery Sadokho said: “The diversification task is a complicated one, particularly the part that requires exporting 30% to far-arc countries. According to statistics, 85% of our export goes to 12-13 partners of ours and there are no far-arc countries among them. Asia gets about 3% of our export if we disregard China. Africa gets 1.1% and the American region (without the USA) gets 1.4%.”
In his words, in order to channel 30% of Belarus' export to far-arc countries, it is necessary to increase production by 25-30%. It is necessary to evaluate whether it can be done. If it can be done, it is necessary to consider what goods Belarus will export bearing in mind the long transportation distance that creates non-competitive conditions for the Belarusian food industry. “Raising the share of far-arc countries to 30% is possible, but it is a difficult route,” Valery Sadokho said.
At the same time this year Belarus has been able to secure its grasp on Asian markets: export to China rose by 78% while Belarus-Vietnam trade soared by 80%. “Vietnam is an important country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Any vehicles, machines, and equipment made in Vietnam can be exported to ASEAN countries without customs duties. We are talking about a market of 500 million people,” the official pointed out. Valery Sadokho reminded that Belarus and Vietnam had set up a joint venture to assemble MAZ vehicles. It opens up good prospects for exporting products from Vietnam to other ASEAN countries.
Valery Sadokho said he believes Belarusian exporters do not use all the opportunities for promoting their products. For instance, they can use the website export.by for free in order to present information about their products in English but only about 30% of the companies have done it so far. “We are going to participate in the Expo 2020 in Dubai and have to demonstrate what Belarus makes to the entire world. There are certain shortcomings in this regard. We are going to discuss the matter at a government conference within the next few days,” he added.
The recent presidential decree, which offers subsidies for participating in foreign expos, should become one of the tools to support Belarusian exporters. According to Valery Sadokho, it will help small and medium businesses to take a more active part in international expos abroad and penetrate foreign markets.
