Belarus’ Foreign Trade in Goods and Services Turns Surplus in First Half

Belarus’ foreign trade balance in goods and services turned positive in the first half of the year, according to data from the National Bank of Belarus.

Exports of goods and services in January-June amounted to $27.85 billion, up 14.4% from a year earlier. Imports of goods and services increased by 11.7% to $27.83 billion. As a result, a trade surplus in goods and services of $6 million was recorded for the first half of the year. Last year, Belarus ended the first half with a foreign trade deficit of nearly $600 million.

Goods exports increased by 10.9% to $21.07 billion in the first six months, while imports rose by 11.6% to $23.82 billion. The goods trade deficit amounted to $2.74 billion, up 17.8% from the same period last year.

Services exports increased by 27% to $6.776 billion in the first half of the year. Imports, meanwhile, rose by only 11.8% to $4.03 billion. The services trade surplus amounted to $275 billion, up 58.7% from last year.