Belarus first time sees trade surplus with Russia in 2022 - PM

MINSK. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Belarus for the first time saw a trade surplus with Russia at the end of 2022, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said.

"It is for the first time that there is a surplus for Belarus in trade with Russia, which means that the value of exported goods and services surpasses imports. Overall, Belarusian exports of goods to the Russian market increased both in physical terms and by value in the past year," the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA quoted Golovchenko as saying during a meeting held by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and dedicated to the implementation of integration programs within the Union State of Belarus and Russia.

"One of the main problems that we always had with Russia was our trade deficit. We used to import more than we sold. And in certain years, this gap amounted to $7 billion," he said.

Golovchenko also pointed at a record Belarus-Russia mutual trade figure for 2022. "Despite serious challenges, sanctions, restrictions and so on and so forth, Belarus and Russia are continuing to develop cooperation in all the segments of the socioeconomic sphere, achieving results. In [the first] 11 months of 2022, we reached an all-time high in mutual trade in terms of goods and services at $45 billion. I believe that in 12 months [of 2022], we'll cross the benchmark of $50 billion [trade figures will be disclosed in the expected publication of statistical data]," Golovchenko said.