MINSK, 15 August (BelTA) – The steady work of the economy allows offsetting the effect of Western sanctions on the population. Belarusian Deputy Economy Minister Dmitry Yaroshevich made the statement as he commented on instructions given during the Council of Ministers session chaired by the head of state, press service of the Economy Ministry told BelTA.
According to Dmitry Yaroshevich, the work of the economy should be evaluated systemically with a set of various macroeconomic parameters. “Foreign trade traditionally has special significance for our country. In H1 2022 Belarus' foreign trade surplus totaled $2.3 billion. It is quite a serious result. Moreover, if we consider the situation in dynamics, as it changes month after month, merchandise export is recovering. The export growth rate totaled 77% in April 2022 as against April 2021. The figure reached 90% in May and 99.6% in June. In other words, shipment volumes have virtually returned to last year's levels,” he pointed out.
“Promising remote markets are ready to buy our products. This is why we expect a surge in export once logistics issues are totally resolved. Rapidly growing Africa and Asia are the growth points of the world economy that we will keep an eye on in the near future,” the deputy economy minister remarked.
Speaking about domestic growth drivers, Dmitry Yaroshevich singled out consumption. “We would like the population's purchasing capacity to grow not only with regard to food but also real estate and other things. Plans have been made to work out additional stimulating tools and mechanisms in addition to existing ones. The more we consume, the better the economy feels. The level of income is crucial. Salaries in Belarus are on the rise. The growth is slightly behind inflation. At 99.6%. But then we can fix the situation in real terms at the end of the year. Pensions were seriously raised on 1 August: virtually by 25% as against August 2021. In other words, the priorities specified by the head of state are being secured so that people would not feel the effect of the sanctions,” the official concluded.
