{"id":56392,"date":"2023-12-19T15:37:41","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T12:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=longreads&#038;p=56392"},"modified":"2023-12-19T15:39:17","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T12:39:17","slug":"foreign-trade-a-sore-spot-of-belarusian-economy","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/56392\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign trade a sore spot of Belarusian economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>By<\/em> <em>Ale\u015b Hudzija<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>International sanctions have forced Minsk to make an enormous effort to promote Belarusian goods and services to new markets to avoid a sharp decrease in trade and steady the economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"726\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/economist_kg.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/economist_kg.jpg 726w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/economist_kg-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 726px) 100vw, 726px\" \/>\n    <figcaption>\n        \n                    <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                                <span>(economist.kg)<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In response to restrictive measures, Minsk has limited public access to statistical data, including foreign trade. Still, the available data are sufficient to see the main issues and trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Two periods of foreign trade<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarusian industry, rebuilt after the Second World War, was intended to satisfy demand not only in Belarus, but also manufacture goods for sale elsewhere in the Soviet Union. The capacity of some large enterprises, such as the Minsk Tractor Factory or the Belarusian Automobile Plant (BelAZ), considerably exceeds the country\u2019s internal needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the collapse of the USSR, Belarus faced a major challenge to restore ties with the newly independent post-Soviet countries and capture new markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Belarus&#8217; trade in goods and services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All, exports, imports, deficit or surplus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/16168231\/embed#?secret=rmsbxS0XrW\" data-secret=\"rmsbxS0XrW\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Analyzing Belarus&#8217; foreign trade in the last twenty years, we can distinguish two periods, with a break at the end of the 2000s, when Minsk lost access to cheap Russian energy. From 2000 to 2008 exports of goods and services grew more than fivefold, while from 2008 to 2022, by 29 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Belarus paid higher prices for energy after 2008, they were still significantly below the market level. However, despite that indirect support from Russia, Belarus has not been able to maintain the pace of foreign trade growth of previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanctions have undercut exports. The government responded by encouraging state and private companies to promote their products in open markets and to look for new export opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key export items<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus has a big difference between trade in goods and services. In 2022, goods sales exceeded services fourfold, amounting to $37.6 billion and $9.2 billion, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Belarus&#8217; trade in goods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>US$ million<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All, export of goods, import of goods, deficit or surplus<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/16168316\/embed#?secret=qZUwARotO4\" data-secret=\"qZUwARotO4\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Belarus&#8217; trade in services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All, export, import, surplus or deficit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/16168367\/embed#?secret=jK1h8l0YMx\" data-secret=\"jK1h8l0YMx\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Imports of goods often exceed exports, while the opposite is true for services. Thus, the balance of foreign trade is positive when the services surplus exceeds the deficit of trade in goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the long list of countries with which Belarus trades, only a few are really significant. For example, in 2021 Russia accounted for roughly half of Belarus&#8217; foreign trade; Ukraine, for 8.5 percent; and China, for 6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Export and import, major trading partners<\/strong>, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Export, import<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/16168433\/embed#?secret=DlNExGpIM3\" data-secret=\"DlNExGpIM3\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Russia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, China, Brazil, Latvia, United States, Azerbaijan, India<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tight sanctions and the war in Ukraine have increased Belarus&#8217; dependence on the Russian market, both direct &#8212; an increase of deliveries to Russia, and indirect &#8212; access to third countries via Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the sanctions against Belarus and Russia are not fully harmonized, goods imported to Belarus are often re-exported to Russia. So, a large volume of Belarus\u2019 foreign trade is fake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus\u2019 key export items are potash fertilizers, petroleum products, IT and transport services. Not surprisingly, it is in these areas that the European Union and the United States have imposed the most significant sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Minsk desperately seeking new opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2023, the government\u2019s top economic worries were the shrinking labor market and foreign trade. Minsk tries to present its chaotic search for new opportunities in Russia and Africa as a successful shift that enabled it to offset losses, but in reality it faces major difficulties with foreign trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Belarus critically depends on the Russia, which can hardly be described as a promising market for its goods. Africa and other remote destinations cannot fully replace the lost markets, such as Ukraine and the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarusian goods may be in demand in Africa, but the low purchasing power of potential buyers and high logistical costs often make trade with them inefficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, transport and IT services exports have plunged, with the country narrowly avoiding a trade deficit. A chronic deficit would mean that the country would need more foreign cash for imports than it could earn from exports. The National Bank has not enough reserves for financing such imbalances in the long term. Third, Minsk&#8217;s failed trade deals with Venezuela and Turkmenistan proved that substituting economic imperatives with political goals can be costly for Belarusian businesses. Exporters may be forced to supply goods and services to new markets with a higher risk of default.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ale\u015b Hudzija International sanctions have forced Minsk to make an enormous effort to promote Belarusian goods and services to new markets to avoid a sharp decrease in trade and steady the economy. In response to restrictive measures, Minsk has limited public access to statistical data, including foreign trade. Still, the available data are sufficient [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":56183,"template":"","rubric":[21,24],"class_list":["post-56392","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-economy","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Foreign trade a sore spot of Belarusian economy | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Ale\u015b Hudzija International sanctions have forced Minsk to make an enormous effort to promote Belarusian goods and services to new markets to avoid a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/56392\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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