Belarus’ freight up after years of decline

March 18, Pozirk. Freight carriage volume increased by 1.6 percent in Belarus year on year in January–February, according to the National Statistics Committee (Biełstat).

Passenger-distance, the total distance traveled by all the passengers, increased by 8.3 percent. The industry transported 6.4 percent more passengers during this period.

The freight carriage volume has been steadily declining in recent years: by 5.8 percent in 2019, 5.9 percent in 2020, 3.6 percent in 2021, 25.4 percent in 2022 and 17.7 percent in January–December 2023.

Earlier, Eurasian Development Bank analysts explained the significant reduction in volume by the disruption of transport and logistics chains, the partial closure of Russian airspace and disrupted lines of communication with Ukraine.