MINSK, 22 October (BelTA) – Belarus’ economy is not overheated, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov said during a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic in Minsk on 22 October, BelTA has learned.
“Some experts argue that the Belarusian economy is overheated because of the rapid growth of wages. Taking this opportunity, I would like to make things clear and respond to such claims standing on this rostrum. Labor costs are growing simultaneously with other costs. The share of labor costs has practically not changed. They accounted for 22% of costs. This suggests that wages are not overpaid. Secondly, there are no signs of a rising inflation,” Nikolai Snopkov remarked.
Thirdly, there is no pressure on the currency market. Households have been net sellers of currency for the seventh month in a row. In fact, they have sold $900 million worth of foreign currency since the beginning of the year. “The fourth factor is that the share of expenses on non-food items, like cars and real estate, has grown from 11.7% in 2023 to 13% in 2024. At the same time, a reasonable disparity in prices and wages with Russia remains. The difference in wages remains close to 30% and, on average, over the past years, the disparity in prices and wages has been 25-35%. Thus, the government does not see the need to curb the growth of wages,” said the first deputy prime minister.
“I would like to dwell on this topic, since it is broadly discussed in mass media. There is no overheating of the economy in principle, despite the fact that the government is actively working on a new investment cycle. The Economy Ministry evaluates 19 indicators every month, which form the so-called heat map of overheating, and at the moment we can say that the economy remains in a neutral zone,” added Nikolai Snopkov.
“Some experts argue that the Belarusian economy is overheated because of the rapid growth of wages. Taking this opportunity, I would like to make things clear and respond to such claims standing on this rostrum. Labor costs are growing simultaneously with other costs. The share of labor costs has practically not changed. They accounted for 22% of costs. This suggests that wages are not overpaid. Secondly, there are no signs of a rising inflation,” Nikolai Snopkov remarked.
Thirdly, there is no pressure on the currency market. Households have been net sellers of currency for the seventh month in a row. In fact, they have sold $900 million worth of foreign currency since the beginning of the year. “The fourth factor is that the share of expenses on non-food items, like cars and real estate, has grown from 11.7% in 2023 to 13% in 2024. At the same time, a reasonable disparity in prices and wages with Russia remains. The difference in wages remains close to 30% and, on average, over the past years, the disparity in prices and wages has been 25-35%. Thus, the government does not see the need to curb the growth of wages,” said the first deputy prime minister.
“I would like to dwell on this topic, since it is broadly discussed in mass media. There is no overheating of the economy in principle, despite the fact that the government is actively working on a new investment cycle. The Economy Ministry evaluates 19 indicators every month, which form the so-called heat map of overheating, and at the moment we can say that the economy remains in a neutral zone,” added Nikolai Snopkov.
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