Belarus has a wide geography of light industry exports, but most shipments go to the Russian market. This was stated by Nadzeya Lazarevich, head of the Bellegprom concern, at a meeting between Federation Council Chair Valentina Matvienko and manufacturers, experts and representatives of the sector from CIS member states on the topic “Developing the Economies of States Through Light Industry and Creative Industries.”
According to her, joint projects, initiatives and industrial cooperation also help Belarus and Russia develop their light industry sectors by complementing each other in related technological areas.
“Despite the wide geography of exports [of Belarusian products], 80% of the total volume is sent to the Russian Federation,” TASS quoted her as saying.
The head of Bellegprom said that Belarus supplies a wide range of goods to Russia. Over the first nine months of this year, total trade between the two countries reached almost USD 38 billion, of which about 7% comes from light industry products.
Lazarevich stressed the importance of having a domestic raw material base and producing semi-finished goods, which create the foundation for further expanding cooperation. According to her, Belarusian enterprises purchase significant volumes of wool and tops from Russian producers for the manufacture of wool yarn and fabrics.
Bellegprom is participating in the international “Commonwealth of Fashion” forum in St. Petersburg. According to the concern’s press service, a memorandum was signed between Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, Kamvol JSC and Aurus LLC, as well as cooperation agreements with the Russian Export Center.
“For Belarusian light industry, this agreement opens new avenues for cooperation with a key Russian export-support institution. Our main goal is not only to increase trade turnover between our countries, but also to join efforts to strengthen competitive positions in the global market.
We appreciate the REC’s readiness to exchange information, assist in finding partners, organize business missions and, most importantly, jointly enter markets of mutual interest. This will give our companies the necessary support to overcome current challenges and ensure sustainable export growth,” Lazarevich said.