Opportunities for growth of Belarus' exports

Dirty Russian oil and tax maneuver have spoiled Belarus' export statistics. This year, the government has estimated the loss of foreign supplies at one and a half million dollars, said the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers Sergey Rumas today at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers calling the situation with the export program difficult. 

The government is looking for opportunities to grow the export basket. One of the ways is creation of free trade zones within the EAEU for third countries. The agreements will allow increasing trade flows due to zeroing or reduction of customs duties on a number of goods. 

Andrei Yevdochenko, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus: "We are holding negotiations on FTA with Israel. At the beginning of the next year, we'll start negotiations with India. There is also a list of 12 countries, with which we would like to work in about 2-3 years. Since March, we have already begun negotiations in order to obtain their consent to discuss the agreements."

The decline in exports has had an impact on the economy as a whole. Its growth has slowed down: in nine months, GDP grew by 1%.