IMF Mission Head: Belarus Has Slowest Economic Growth In Region

Lukashenka’s economy is getting more and more ineffective.

From 1995 to 2007, Belarus had the region’s second largest growth rate. Then the growth rate decelerated sharply. Over the past 10 years, Belarus has left the top three and has become a country with the slowest growth, Radio Svaboda reports.

From 2010 to 2017, the Belarusian economy was growing by only 1.5% (a decrease from 7.5% to 1.5%). The system was getting more and more ineffective – Jacques Miniane, head of the IMF mission in Belarus, gave such an assessment of the economy at the October Economic Forum.

“It’s time to cover the roof when the weather is good – this is our main thesis. But external vulnerability persists. The exports are highly concentrated. The three most important partners draw off 60% of the external market.

One of these markets, Russia, accounts for 40% of total exports. Belarus substantially depends on subsidized energy imports from Russia. We assume that in 2018, all these subsidies will make up 10% of GDP – that is a lot,” – the head of the IMF mission in Belarus said.

Belarus has a high level of dollarization. The national debt is not very high, but it has grown substantially. Moreover, 90% of loans are in foreign currency. A foreign currency loan is more difficult to refinance. 6% of GDP will be used to service the public debt – this is a lot, – Jacques Miniane noted.

“The main task of state policy is to raise the standard of living. In terms of average incomes, Belarus does not even correspond to the growth rate of incomes in Russia (which have fallen significantly), and there is nothing to say about the European Union,” – the head of the IMF mission said.