Negative balance approaching 2 billion :: Charter'97 :: News

International trade negative balance has comprised USD 1 billion 793 million for the first half of the year. That is two times more than for the same period of the last year.

At that, the negative balance of the trade with Russia has totaled USD 3billion 336 million, the ministry for statistics and analysis reports.
The negative balance has been caused by the excelling tempo of import growth over the period. The import has increased by 22.4%, i.e, USD 12.508 billion as compared to the January-June 2006 with the export growing only by 15.3% and amounted to USD 10 715 billion.
The positive balance of Belarus with the non-C.I.S. countries amounting to USD 1.371billion has been developed but its development trend is negative and it has decreased by 35.6% as compared to the previous year thus deteriorating the total trade balance. At that, the negative balance of USD 789.4 billion, i.e. three times the last year‘s balance, was formed with Germany over the January-June period.
Yesterday the government of Belarus admitted the task of developing the positive international trade balance of USD 500 billion by the end of the year set up by Lukashenka as unrealistic .As the economy minister of Belarus Mikalai Zaichanka was obliged to declare, by the end of the year the negative international trade balance of Belarus is not likely to decrease but, on the contrary, to increase.
“We’ll do our best to make the negative balance develop as slowly as possible”, the minister admitted.
Zaichanka also stated that the further negative development of the international trade balance would be caused by certain psychologically –natured complications, the “AFN” agency writes. .
“We have to overcome the USD 2 billion (negative balance) barrier caused by the gas price hike and new oil delivery conditions”, the BelTA quotes the minister.