Foreign Currency Earnings Of Belarus Decreases By $ 4,5 Billion

This is due to a number of factors.

In January-September, Belarus' foreign exchange earnings amounted to $ 26.5 billion and decreased compared to the same period last year by $ 4.5 billion, or 14.5%, according to official statistics, the website naviny.by writes.

Including, revenue from export of goods amounted to $ 19.4 billion and decreased by 17.1%, or by $ 4 billion, revenue from export of services amounted to $ 6.45 billion, and decreased by 6.4%, or by $ 444 million.

According to experts, a significant reduction in foreign exchange earnings this year is due to the influence of several factors:

a decrease in Russian oil supplies to Belarus in the first quarter;

a decrease in external demand for Belarusian goods and services due to the pandemic;

a decrease in the cost of raw materials (oil products and potash fertilizers) exported by Belarus in the world.

International financial organizations predict that due to a decrease in external demand for the Belarusian goods and services, the country's economy will contract in 2020. Thus, the World Bank predicts a decline in Belarus' GDP this year by 4%, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - by 3%, the International Monetary Fund - by 3%.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy of Belarus expects to prevent a decline in the GDP this year and expects economic recovery in the second half of the year. In January-September, Belarus's GDP fell by 1.3%.

Belarusian economists believe that the reduction in foreign exchange earnings this year will have negative consequences.

“Many Belarusian enterprises attracted foreign currency loans, and it is natural that the reduction in foreign exchange earnings negatively affects the ability of enterprises to pay loans, raise wages, and even more so to implement investment projects,” said Iryna Tachytskaya, scientific director of the IPM Research Center.

She also drew attention to the fact that the reduction in foreign exchange earnings led to a decrease in the revenues of the Belarusian budget, which includes export duties on oil, oil products and potash fertilizers, tax on profits of exporting enterprises.

In January-September, income tax receipts amounted to BYN 298.9 million, and decreased by BYN 506.8 million, or more than 2.5 times compared to the same period last year. Income from foreign economic activity in January-September amounted to BYN 2.73 billion, and decreased by BYN 776.5 million, or 22.2% compared to January-September 2019.