Belarus’ Trade Deficit in Goods and Services Narrows for Second Consecutive Month

Belarus’ deficit in foreign trade in goods and services has been declining for the second month in a row, according to data published by the National Bank on the country’s external trade for the first eight months of the year.

Belarusian exports of goods and services in January–August rose by 1% to $32.78 billion, while imports increased by 2.5% to $33.38 billion. As a result, the trade deficit in goods and services amounted to $602.8 million — nearly $200 million less than after seven months. However, the deficit remains significantly higher than a year earlier: in January–August 2024, it stood at $111.7 million.

Exports of goods fell by 2.5% to $25.5 billion during the period, while imports grew by 1.4% to $28.7 billion. The resulting goods trade deficit reached $3.2 billion, one and a half times higher than last year.

Belarusian exports of services increased by 15.4% to $7.29 billion, while imports rose by 9.8% to $4.68 billion. The surplus in services trade totaled $2.6 billion, up 27.1% compared with the same period last year.