Belarus Suffers Sharp Slowdown in Oil and Potash Exports

Export of potash fertilizers and oil products has dropped in value terms by more than a third since the beginning of the year.

According to official statistics, in January-May the exports of potash fertilizers equaled to $727.9 million and decreased by 37.5% ($436.2 million) in value terms or by 21.9%.

In January-May 2016 exports oil products made up $2 billion and in monetary terms fell by $1.1 billion compared with the same period a year earlier (35.2%). Thus, in real terms it remained the same - 7.6 million tons.

Thus, due to decline of world prices for potash fertilizers and petroleum products the Belarusian exports fell by more than $1.5 billion in January-May, BelaPAN informs.

It is noteworthy that in the first quarter Belarus failed to earn nearly $100 million based on exports of its own oil. In January-May exports of the Belarusian oil to Germany amounted to 673 thousand tons ($167.9 million). In physical terms the exports of the Belarusian oil has not changed, in contrast to value ones compared with last January-May.

As previously reported, in January-May Belarus' commodity export amounted to $8.9 billion. It decreased by 19.2% or $2.1 billion as compared with the same period last year. Thus, the contribution of the three mentioned goods (oil products, potash fertilizers and oil) in the decline of Belarusian export equaled to 77% in January-May.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei expressed discontent with the Belarusian export dynamics in the current year. "I will note at once that the export dynamics over five months cannot be satisfactory, the task for 2016 is not being implemented," he stated at the working meeting between leaders of Belarusian diplomatic and consular services and members of the government on July 13. The Foreign Minister stressed that in January-May only 15 of 59 Belarusian diplomatic missions had fulfilled the task on export building.