Industrial enterprises seeking new paths to promote their goods abroad

President Lukashenko has expressed his concern over Industry Ministry enterprises, which account for one fifth of national industrial production and which rely on exporting almost half of their goods. He noted recent discussion of modern economic trends, saying, “We’ve agreed to eradicate all red tape and excessive approval requirements; we’ll take the necessary decisions to ensure fulfilment.” The Industry Minister and other related members of Government are to be among the first to report on the progress and fulfilment of instructions.

Directors of Belarus’ largest enterprises attended a meeting on the manufacturing sector, at which the Head of State underlined his desire to know about future plans and measures being taken to ensure efficient operation of companies, and their workers. “We don’t need to discuss the difficult situation of today, or to hear what you are going to do on the day after tomorrow. Rather, I need concrete results,” emphasised Mr. Lukashenko.

The Government aims to improve the work of the industrial sector. In particular, Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov noted at the gathering of Minsk’s industrial elite that he encourages enterprises to seek new paths in promoting goods abroad. He added that industrial production problems affect domestic economic growth, asserting that the previous year’s achievements have failed to be matched due to production levels dropping off.

Mr. Kobyakov believes that, in order to be competitive, and to produce goods in demand abroad, enterprises should adjust their methods, looking beyond traditional markets and responding to new openings. He emphasised, “All companies working under normal global market conditions should address this task. Belarus is working under these conditions, being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union; meanwhile, the Russian Federation is a WTO member so, de-facto, we’re working under WTO conditions.”

The PM visited two Minsk enterprises: Regula Ltd. and Minsk Automobile Works — the Management Company of BelautoMAZ Holding JSC. He met the heads of other enterprises in the capital to see how measures adopted by the Government to stabilise industrial production are being carried out, and with what success.

Speaking to journalists, Mr. Kobyakov noted that strategic development of Belarusian industry is ensured by such enterprises as Regula, which receives $40,000 per kilogramme of manufactured produce. It achieves minimum material and energy consumption, alongside maximum intellectual capacity. He added, “This doesn’t mean that we should ignore our flagships, such as MAZ and MTZ. The most important thing is to determine how to survive under existing difficult conditions when traditional sales markets for domestic goods have reduced and it’s necessary to find new markets. We need to know where, how and what should be done in order to sell more abroad, with good results.”

The session was attended by representatives of the Council of Ministers, alongside ministers of Economy, Industry, Architecture and Construction, and Energy. Heads of concerns, local authorities and representatives of industrial enterprises from across Minsk also took part.