Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

In April 2021 the index of consumer prices for goods and services totaled 100.7% as against March 2021 and 104.6% as against December 2020, BelTA learned from the National Statistics Committee of Belarus.

In April the base index of consumer prices, which rules out changes in prices for individual goods and services susceptible to administrative and seasonal factors, totaled 100.7% as against March 2021 and 103.8% as against December 2020.

Prices for foods went up by 0.9% from March 2021 and by 4.6% from December 2020.

Prices for non-foods increased by 0.8% from March 2021 and 4.7% from December 2020.

In April prices for services rose 0.4% from March 2021 and 4.4% from December 2020.

Written by belta.by

Belarus was among the few countries that increased the inflow of net foreign direct investment last year, Belarus' Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov said in an interview to the SB. Belarus Segodnya newspaper, BelTA has learned.

According to him, the competition for foreign investment has sharply increased in recent years. This is partly a consequence of weaker international investment flows triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“According to UNCTAD's 2020 data, global foreign direct investment fell by 42%. The decline was 69% in developed countries, 12% in developing countries, and 77% in transition economies. Belarus was among the few countries to have increased the inflow of net foreign direct investment last year, up $1.4 billion, or 6.6%. This suggests that our economy has not lost its attractiveness and is still interesting for investors. It is especially important that the FDI structure has improved. The reinvestment rate exceeded 30%. This once again emphasizes the confidence and willingness of foreign investors to invest their profits in further development within our country,” the minister said.

Aleksandr Chervyakov added that last year 56 new residents were registered in the country's free economic zones and the Great Stone Industrial Park. The total volume of their declared investments made up some $280 million and 2,500 new jobs. Thirty residents of them are with foreign capital and total investments of $240 million and 1,500 new jobs. The biggest trade partner and investor in the Belarusian economy is Russia. It accounts for one fifth of all foreign capital in the country. The top five countries also include Cyprus, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States.

The new investment projects, launched in 2020, are focused on advanced processing of local raw materials. Such wood processing projects are implemented in Vitebsk Oblast and Grodno Oblast.

“Belarus' competitive advantages are well known. These are, of course, the advantageous geographical location at the junction of two major integration associations - the EU and the EAEU, developed transport communications and infrastructure, and also a highly qualified workforce and significant scientific and technical potential. Another important benefit is the presence of areas with preferential regimes for investors. We understand that in conditions of fierce competition for capital, it is necessary to create conditions that are at least no worse than those in the neighboring countries. We are working in this direction, carrying out extensive reforms aimed at improving the investment attractiveness. Transformations will affect a wide range of relations, with tax and investment legislation further improving,” the minister said.

Written by belta.by

Consul General of the Republic of Belarus in Guangzhou Andrei Popov visited the city of Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China, BelTA learned from a Belarusian diplomatic mission.

The Belarusian delegation also included a general representative of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, Secretary General of the Guangdong-CIS International Technological Cooperation Union Guo Fengzhi, and representatives of SZAO Industrial Park Development Company in China (Shenzhen).

Andrei Popov met with Deputy Chairperson of the Guizhou Province People's Government Cai Caolin. The sides exchanged visions of prospects of stepping up bilateral cooperation in trade and investments, science and technology, education, healthcare, and tourism. A presentation of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone, the special economic zone Bremino-Orsha, and Belarus' R&D potential was arranged.

These matters were discussed in detail as the Belarusian delegation met with Deputy Director of the Guizhou Province Commerce Department Ran Li. Investment proposals on implementing promising projects in agriculture and other spheres in Vitebsk Oblast were handed over to the Chinese side.

An agreement was reached on sending a Guizhou Province business delegation to Belarus after epidemic restrictions are lifted.

Written by belta.by

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is holding a meeting with Chairman of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, former president of that country Igor Dodon, BelTA has learned.

The Telegram channel Pul Pervogo has noted that the meeting is taking place out of town and released several photos of the meeting between the Belarusian leader and Igor Dodon.

A delegation of the Moldovan parliament will visit Belarus on 5-7 May. Meetings are planned in the National Assembly and the government. They will also attend an official ceremony to unveil a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union Ion Soltys from Moldova installed in Minsk at the intersection of Soltysa Street and Vaupshasova Street. The delegation will also visit the Khatyn Memorial Complex, lay a capsule with the soil from the burial places of Moldovan soldiers who died liberating Belarus in the crypt of the All Saints Church.

In 2020, Belarus-Moldova trade amounted to $204.1 million, down by 9.4% over 2019 amid the pandemic. Belarus had a surplus of $61.1 million In January-February 2021, the trade totaled $33.8 million, up by 23.5% year-on-year. Belarus' major export items were petroleum products, trolleybuses, tractors, medicines, fiberglass, boards and plastic films. Major imports from Moldova were wine, spirits, corn, fresh and canned fruits and vegetables, carpets and flooring.

There are 23 enterprises with Moldovan participation in Belarus, including 7 joint ventures and 16 foreign enterprises. In Moldova, there are more than 60 representative offices, commodity distribution network entities and distributors of Belarusian enterprises, 3 assembly plants (assembling Belkommunmash trolleybuses, tractors of the Smorgon Assembly Plant and the Bobruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units).

Written by belta.by

Belarus is mulling over projects to use peat as fuel in cement production, Belarus' Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich said as he met with the personnel of the design research enterprise Belgiprotopgaz on 3 May, BelTA learned from the press service of the ministry.

According to Viktor Karankevich, this year plans are in place to increase the delivery of peat products to the cement factories, including milled peat to Krasnoselstroymaterialy. The minister also named the conversion of boiler houses of the utilities sector from natural gas to milled peat as one of the priorities. “We have good examples of such projects: some of them are already at the final stage of implementation, and some are in the pipeline as promising ones,” he said.

Viktor Karankevich outlined a growing trend of demand for peat products in the domestic market. “About 40-45% of the total peat output was exported in 2011. Today this product is mainly in demand in our country,” the minister said.

In late 2020, Belarus approved a program of comprehensive modernization of peat production for 2021-2025. “This is a systematic document, which reflects the further development of the peat industry and each peat enterprise. We are going to upgrade the equipment, implement modern technologies and use new methods of peat field development and peat extraction. This means an increase in labor productivity, revenue growth, opportunities for the expansion of markets and the range of products manufactured by the peat factories,” the minister emphasized.

During his visit to the enterprise Viktor Karankevich introduced new Director of Belgiprotopgaz Sergei Gvozd to the enterprise's personnel. “Sergei Vladimirovich [Gvozd] has proved to be a competent specialist and a responsible manager who made a significant contribution to the development of the gas supply system in Vitebsk Oblast, being engaged in designing and construction. I hope the experience he has gained will be useful in his new capacity,” said the minister. Director General of Beltopgaz, member of the Council of the Republic Aleksei Kushnarenko added that Sergei Gvozd has had a successful career in the gas industry and has the necessary knowledge to lead the research institute which is of strategic importance to the industry.

Written by belta.by

Spring crops in Belarus have been sown on 1.365 million hectares, which is 54.7% of the target area, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.

As of 1 May, early spring cereals and leguminous crops (excluding corn, buckwheat, and millet) were planted on the area of 756,300ha (102.6%). Sowing was complete in Brest Oblast, Gomel Oblast, Grodno Oblast, Minsk Oblast, and Mogilev Oblast. Progress in sowing these crops reached 93.2% in Vitebsk Oblast. This year these crops are supposed to occupy 737,100ha.

Flax was sown on the area of 32,900ha or 66.3% of the plan. Sugar beet was planted on the area of 80,900ha or 89.3% of the plan, potatoes were sown on the area of 9,000ha (38.5%).

The total area of spring crops for harvest 2021 in Belarus is estimated at almost 2.5 million hectares.

Belarus intends to expand opportunities to use family capital ahead of due time.

The relevant draft decree has already been drawn up and submitted to the government, Marina Artemenko, the head of the population, gender and family policy department at the Belarusian Labor and Social Security Ministry, told journalists during a web-based press briefing, BelTA has learned.

According to Marina Artemenko, thanks to the family capital program, the number of families with third and subsequent children in Belarus has increased. Since 2015, around 20,000 such children are born in Belarus annually, which accounts for 23% of the total.

As many as 97,000 deposit accounts with the total sum of Br2.5 billion were opened for large families under Belarus' family capital program. “This is almost as much as the yearly funds earmarked for paying state benefits to families with children,” Marina Artemenko pointed out.

So far, 31,000 large families used family capital ahead of due time (as of 1 March, this sum exceeded Br440 million, or 18% of the sum in the deposit accounts). “Since 2020, more large families have decided to use family capital ahead of due time, thanks to the amendments to the legislation that allow using family capital for housing and education, which are important issues for large families,” Marina Artemenko noted.

"The government has already submitted a draft decree on family capital which provides for the expansion of its use," she added.

As the draft decree was prepared the opinion of large families and government bodies was studied and most popular uses were chosen among.

For example, the draft decree proposes to further expand the options of early use of family capital to address housing issues, in particular, to use it to repay the debt on a loan in cases when citizens independently entered into a housing construction contract (now only in cases of referral for housing construction in due course). It also proposes to use it to repay housing loans provided by organizations at the place of work of citizens and to purchase a share in the ownership of residential premises.

In the field of education, the family capital funds will be allowed to be used to pay for education in institutions of higher and vocational education of consumer cooperation and universities of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.

The draft decree also provides for a completely new area of use of the family capital - to purchase products of social rehabilitation and adaptation for people with disabilities.

"The draft decree contains measures to limit the misuse of family capital funds," Marina Artemenko added.

Written by minsk-region.gov.by

As of 1 April 2021 Belarus' external state debt totaled $18.1 billion, $0.5 billion or 2.4% down since the beginning of the year (taking into account differences in currency exchange rates), BelTA learned from the Belarusian Finance Ministry.

In January-March 2021 the Belarusian government borrowed an equivalent of $171.5 million, including $122.7 million from the Russian government, $40.3 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $8.3 million from the Export–Import Bank of China and $0.2 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).

In January-March 2021 Belarus spent $568.7 million to repay the external state debt, including $242.7 million to the Russian government, $189.9 million to Chinese banks, $112.1 million to the EFSD, $22 million to the IBRD, $1.5 million to the EBRD and the NIB, and $0.5 million to the U.S. Commodity Credit Corporation.

As of 1 April 2021 Belarus' state debt totaled Br59.3 billion, up Br1.5 billion or 2.7% since the beginning of the year.

The internal state debt amounted to Br11.8 billion as of 1 April. Taking into account differences in currency exchange rates, the internal state debt went up by Br1.9 billion or 19.1% since the beginning of the year.

In January-March 2021 individuals and corporations bought $721 million worth of domestic government bonds nominated in foreign and national currencies.

BelTA

Belarus will be working to increase export of food, maintain presence in traditional markets and get access to new ones, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Subbotin told journalists following the meeting hosted by the head of state on 29 April to discuss the current situation in the agricultural sector of the country, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Subbotin hailed significant achievements of the Belarusian agricultural sector, including ensuring food security. “Now we will focus on increasing sales and entering new markets. This is the priority,” he stressed.

According to Aleksandr Subbotin, the situation with Belarus' export is fluid. “We might lose our position in one market but at the same time gain a foothold in another two or three . Analyses show that food supplies will remain important. The world is starting to notice the deficit of food and the prices for all foods are starting to climb. This might sound as an overstatement, but Belarus is one of the world's major food manufacturers and exporters. We realize this and will try to keep this position,” Aleksandr Subbotin noted. “This is not an easy task, but thanks to our hard and careful work, we are making headway, albeit slowly,” he added.

In 2020, Belarus' export of agricultural and food products amounted to $5.8 billion, 4.3% up over 2019. Revenues in foreign currency went up by $240 million. Belarus supplied its products to 104 countries in 2019 and to 116 countries in 2020. In Q1 2021, the revenues in foreign currency grew by $72 million year-on-year.

Steps to boost export were on the agenda of the meeting hosted by the head of state on 29 April. According to Aleksandr Subbotin, such meetings with the president and governors are a good tradition and are important. The agricultural sector has become a high-technology sector embracing many various branches, and it is important to ensure cooperation between them, outline development areas, and devise a strategy for the future. Thanks to the participation of the governors, the participants of the meeting were able to address several complicated issues related to the operation of the agricultural sector, Aleksandr Subbotin added.

BelTA

The 9th edition of the International Economic Forum and the 10th edition of the national universal trade fair “Traditions of Orsha” will be running in Orsha from 28 April to 1 May, BelTA learned from Galina Svitina, the head of the economy department of the Orsha District Executive Committee.

The economic forum will bring together around 100 participants. On the first day of the forum, representatives of Orsha and its twin towns Qingdao and Yiwu (China), Gagarin, Vyazma, Tver, and Ivanovo (Russia) will meet online to discuss ways to advance economic cooperation and talk about opportunities for foreign companies in their cities and countries. There are plans to sign a memorandum of cooperation between the pilot zone of regional trade and economic cooperation China-SCO and the Belarusian company Bremino-Group. A Confucius center of the National Confucius Institute of Sinology at Belarusian State University will open at Secondary School No.16 of Orsha with assistance from Chinese partners.

The second day of the economic forum will focus on small business. The program will include online and offline seminars, panel discussions, and presentations to discuss support to small business at the local and government level, digitization of the agricultural sector, and small business development in the countryside. The organizers of the forum will speak about projects running in Orsha District within the framework of the UNDP programs. There are four such projects, two of which are aimed at improving living standards of people with disabilities. The program of the second day will feature the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Center and the FabLab workshop.

The third day of the forum will be centered around retirement benefits. During an online discussion, foreign experts from Italy and Russia will speak about social protection of the elderly in their countries. Representatives of the local social services center that actively works with people with disabilities and the elderly will present humanitarian projects that are carried out in Orsha District.

A job fair will be running during the entire forum. School and college students will learn more about universities and vocational education institutions of Belarus. Representatives of educational institutions will advertise subjects that young people can major in and inform them about the terms and dates of this year's admission campaign.

The national universal trade fair “Traditions of Orsha” will demonstrate a wide range of Belarusian and foreign products. Representatives of companies from Orsha's twin towns will promote their food and non-food products. For example, Russia's Smolensk traditionally brings various kinds of fish to Orsha. The fair will showcase apparel made in Belarus and in Russia. Visitors to the event will also be able to buy Easter goods.

The forum will wrap up on 1 May. Participants will be presented with diplomas.

The events have been organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Orsha District Executive Committee. The opening ceremony will take place in the Ice Arena at 10:00 on 28 April.

BelTA