Belarusian government to adopt comprehensive plan to support economy

2 марта 2022
The Belarusian government is elaborating a comprehensive plan to support our economy in the current situation. The Council of Ministers has set the following tasks: reorientation of Belarusian exports from the Ukrainian market, new schemes of international payments, import substitution. There is also a proposal to introduce a moratorium on all kinds of inspections for business. 

New Western sanctions against the financial and industrial sectors of the Belarusian and Russian economies will force Belarus to take comprehensive measures. Today they are discussing disconnection from SWIFT, a number of Russian banks are already on the black list. Therefore, the National Bank has been instructed to develop new channels for payments.

Russia and China are ready to buy many of our goods. But Ukraine was our transit through the port of Odessa, in particular to China. The Ministry of Agriculture assures us that a new route has already been built by a railroad branch through Russia, and supplies will be delivered in a day or two, so there will be no large stocks of products in warehouses. Both large enterprises and small businesses need support. After all, it takes time to find new buyers and transportation.

Import substitution and dedollarization

Import substitution comes to the forefront in the current environment. Opening new production facilities is a step towards regional development. The government has been instructed to discuss the possibility of detaching payments for energy from the dollar and fix them in Russian rubles. Also, the export-import balances for all commodities will be agreed with the Russians.

In general, Prime Minister called the situation on the financial market stable and manageable. There is an increased demand for dollars and euros from businesses, but there is no deficit. Foreign currency deposits have slightly increased in number. But there is no mass conversion. The government assesses all the risks, noting that now it's important to work in a coherent manner.