In January-October Belarus had a $3.5bn foreign trade surplus, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Guryanov told a press conference at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

"Today we have a surplus. Our export of goods and services outstrips the import by $3.5 billion,” he added.

According to Alexander Guryanov, in January-October 2011, Belarus had a $3 billion deficit in merchandise trade and a $2 billion surplus in trade in services. “Indicators show that we have a very good dynamics in terms of the export of goods and services. What concerns the foreign trade forecast for 2012, the foreign trade surplus will be good, much bigger than we expected,” he said. This, according to the Deputy Minister, will be achieved not only through the growth of exports of goods and services, but also thanks to reasonable import. “For example, our export and import of services grow approximately at the same pace because Belarus is implementing some investment projects and needs to import some service. In terms of merchandise trade, the situation is a bit different. In January-October the export increased by 16.6% while import edged up only by 3%. This shows that this year we have managed to provide a substantial increase in exports compared to imports. This means that in the future, even if the prices on foreign markets fluctuate, we will be able to sustain the foreign trade surplus,” Alexander Guryanov said.

In 2012, Belarus expects the surplus of foreign trade in goods and services at $2.5-3 billion.


 

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