In January-June Belarus’ foreign trade in goods and services swelled by 57.1% in comparison with the same period of last year to $39.9 billion, the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis told BelTA.
Belarus’ export went up by 59.3% to reach $19.4 billion while the import increased by 55% to $20.5 billion. In January-June the foreign trade deficit totalled $1.081 billion (the deficit is expected to make $1.4-1.42 billion in 2008). The deficit of the merchandise trade amounted to $2,003.8 million while the surplus of the foreign trade in services reached $922.8 million.
The Ministry of Statistics and Analysis attributed the increase in cost values of the foreign trade to rising average prices for exported and imported products. In comparison with January-June 2007 average export prices went up by 44.4%, average import prices — 32.1%. The actual volume of exports rose by 12%, imports — 17.9%.
In January-June 2008 the foreign merchandise trade made $36.8 billion, with export as high as $17.3 billion, import — $19.5 billion. In cost terms commodity export increased by 61.8% in comparison with the same period of last year, commodity import — 55.7%.
Export and import operations with intermediate products (energy products, raw materials, components) were the main source of the foreign trade deficit. Belarus imported $15 billion worth of intermediate products (70% up on January-June 2007) and exported $12.6 billion worth of intermediate products (70% up). The deficit of the foreign trade in energy products amounted to $1,185.7 million, $466.3 million more than in the same period of 2007.
Meanwhile, the foreign trade in investment products has improved. In January-June 2007 the surplus of the foreign trade in investment products went up from $268.9 million registered in January-June 2007 to $584.3 million in January-June 2008. The rise is attributed to a larger cost value of exported tractors and truck tractors ($254 million more), machines and mechanisms for harvesting and threshing agricultural crops ($124.4 million more) and trucks ($113.5 million more). Apart from that, Belarus considerably reduced the import of agricultural machines.
In January-June 2008 Belarus’ foreign trade in consumer goods shrank to $338.5 million against $400.9 million in January-June 2007. Positive trends are observed in the food trade. The value of exported food exceeded the import thanks to the larger export of beef, cheese and curd cheese, dry and condensed milk, sugar, butter, pork and other products. The surplus of the foreign trade in food made $84.9 million.
Over the six months of 2008 the value of the foreign trade in services reached $3.137 billion, 35.8% up on the same period of 2007. The export of services swelled by 38.2% to $2.03 billion, import — 31.4% up to $1.107 billion.
Written by belta.by
