A substantial decline in Belarus’s foreign trade

In the first quarter of 2015 Belarus reported a 29.8% fall in its foreign trade year on year. This applies both to exports (-31.4%) and imports (-28.3%).

The sharp downward trend hit Belarus’s trade with the countries from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The decrease in trade with Russia was especially significant since it is Belarus’s main trading partner and accounted for 49% of all Belarus’s trade last year. In January and February 2015, trade between Belarus and Russia decreased by 34.7%. This was mainly due to a fall in Belarus’s exports by 39.9% (imports fell by 31.3%). Trade between Minsk and Kazakhstan, which is quite small compared to trade with Russia, fell by 49%, and trade with Armenia by 23.9%.

Belarus also recorded a 29.3% decrease in trade with the EU (exports fell by 23.3% and imports by 38.9%). The reduced foreign trade volume and revenues in the first quarter of the year were accompanied by a 2% decline in Belarus’s GDP and a 7.3% drop in industrial production.