Belarus’ Deputy Economy Minister: we have all backgrounds to reach forecast GDP growth rates
Belarus has all the backgrounds to reach the projected GDP growth rates – as noted by Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Kartun in his talk with Belarus 1 TV channel
The government has planned growth of 3.8 percent for the Belarusian economy this year. Now the figure of 3 percent has already been registered.
“These tenths of a percent will be difficult in terms of dynamics, because the low base effect is ending and some more industries will need to boost. Moreover, appropriate assistance will be provided by the Government. At the moment, industry contributes about 60 percent to GDP. Even if this pace of industry continues, GDP will slow down slightly. However, in general, we see that we will still expand at a rate of 0.1-0.2 percent. The base effect will end, but we have all the backgrounds to reach the forecast growth parameters of 103.8 percent,” noted Andrei Kartun.
At the same time, the Deputy Economy Minister drew attention to the fact that industry alone won’t cope with the situation.
“We see untapped potential in an industry such as construction, which is able to contribute about 0.8 percent to GDP. Another reserve is trade, which will also continue to grow. This is largely due to the already restored consumer activity, and incomes continue to grow. This is the most important factor, the growth rate exceeds 4.5 percent. Moreover, consumer demand is affected by record low interest rates, which we have never seen in the economy,” the official added.
