Leanid Zaika: Dollar’s Exchange Rate Should Be Br22.000 In Belarus

At the present moment the exchange rate of the Belarusian is overvalued.

It should be devaluated to the level of Br22,000 per dollar, for the economy to start working in normal conditions. That’s the opinion of the head of Strategy Analytical Centre Leanid Zaika, Ezhednevnik writes.

As the expert said at the IV Forum of Manufacturer and suppliers of construction materials, the exchange rate in Belarus is a kind of an anchor, to which the entire economy is pegged, including the inflation indexes. However, the government and the National Bank overestimate the potential of the Belarusian economy greatly, and consequently the national currency.

Meanwhile, the detailed comparative analysis shows that Belarus is closer to Algeria according to a sector economy structure. According to the GDP per capita Belarus is close to the Latin America countries. We are at the same level with Colombia in this respect.

“We should not be haughty and think Belarus is such a highly developed country,” – Leanid Zaika said. According to him, the artificial keeping down of the exchange rate does not promise any good to the Belarusian economy.

“Unfortunately, the exchange rate is to undergo rather difficult procedures in our country now, and they are to exhaust all the real sector of the economy. At the moment the exchange rate is undervalued, so Belarusian manufacturers have problems. We need an exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble of about Br22,000 per dollar, so that we would be able to put things right in the macroeconomic sphere,” – said Leanid Zaika.