Belarus’ gross domestic product has exceeded $100 billion, and the Economy Ministry expects economic momentum to strengthen in the second half of the year, Economy Minister Yury Chabatar said in an interview with Belarusian television.
“We are seeing positive momentum. It is quite a positive, I would say, not modest but steady trend, especially in the second quarter. And we are confident that this will carry over into the second half of the year. Why? First, the key sectors of our economy began to gain momentum precisely in the second quarter. In May alone, according to our estimates, our GDP grew by almost 4%. To be precise, it was 3.7%,” he said.
According to the minister, Belarus’ gross domestic product over the past 12 months has already exceeded $100 billion.
“In fact, if we calculate the rolling average over the past 12 months, our GDP exceeds $100 billion in dollar terms. Naturally, that is encouraging for us,” he added.
Chabatar said household incomes are growing faster than forecast, helping to support retail trade turnover, while the share of Belarusian goods on the domestic market is also increasing. He added that the construction sector and investment activity have recovered following the winter period.
“All this gives us confidence that we will enter the second half of the year on a solid footing. According to surveys of enterprises conducted by our institute, more than 50% of companies have order books covering about three months. Is that a lot or a little? In any case, businesses can see every day that they have work and orders for the next three months, and even for the third, fourth and subsequent months. That, of course, gives confidence in future results,” he said.
