“Our goal is to keep the GDP at last year’s level. We are not considering growth now, but certainly we expect it by the end of the year. This is an extremely difficult task that we have given ourselves,” commented Belarus’ Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky.
The Economy Ministry’s optimistic outlook is based on industry performance. In the first half of the year, Belarus’ GDP amounted to 96.7 percent. “It will be very hard to make up for this drop. But we expect the industry to recover. Those measures that were adopted by the President and the Government are expected to bear fruit. Some of our major enterprises have been upgraded in recent years and this should soon yield results. We expect growth in these sectors: processing, agriculture and woodworking amongst others,” adds Mr. Zinovsky. In addition, the Ministry predicts inflation at 16-17 percent this year. “This is a very positive point. If we can manage to bring inflation down to below 10 percent, then the refinancing rate will be lower, and loans to businesses will be cheaper. Then we will have economic growth, of course,” concluded the Minister.
By Alexander Pimenov
Photo: BELTA
