Belneftekhim aims to boost exports 80% to $25.4 bln in 2012
MINSK. April 13 (Interfax) - The units of Belneftekhim plan to export at least $25.4 billion worth of products in 2012, which would be 80% more than in 2011, a spokesman for the Belarusian state petrochemical company told Interfax.
The company's divisions "must maintain the pace of export growth set last year and maintain shipments of potash fertilizer to foreign markets in amounts no less than last year; exports of chemical and petrochemical products should total at least $2.9 billion," he said.
With planned oil processing at Belarusian refineries of 23 million tonnes, at least 15 million tonnes of oil products are supposed to be exported.
Belneftekhim reported that its units exported $14.1 billion of products in 2011. The company's press service earlier said that Belneftekhim increased exports by 81.9% in 2011 compared to 2010.
Therefore, if such growth rates are maintained, exports should total about $25.4 billion in 2011.
Belneftekhim imported $7.6 billion worth of products in 2011, including imports of oil. For the first time in many years, the company had a visible foreign trade surplus in 2011, which totalled $6.5 billion. "This is the highest foreign trade surplus figure," the spokesman said.
He said exports in 2011 broke down into 69.3% crude oil and oil products, 16.8% potash, 3.1% tires, 2.1% synthetic fiber and thread, and 1.5% nitrogen fertilizer.
The main export markets for Belneftekhim units in 2011 were Russia, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Brazil and Venezuela. The company's products entered 16 new markets in 2011: Surinam, Honduras, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Turkmenistan, Trinidad and Tobago (potash); Jordan, Algeria, Gabon and Morocco (tires); Burkina-Faso and Denmark (potash and nitrogen fertilizer); and Peru, Guiana and Saudi Arabia (potash and tires).
