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2024
Trade turnover of Russia and Belarus for the year increased to a record $60 billion
Trade between Russia and Belarus in 2024 reached a record $60 billion, an increase of 13.2% compared to 2023. According to the data presented in February 2025, such statistics were announced by the adviser-envoy of the Russian Embassy in Belarus Pyotr Frolov. The growth of foreign trade turnover is due to the expansion of cooperation in various sectors of the economy, the strengthening of industrial ties and an increase in the supply of key goods.
According to Interfax, the volume of mutual trade between Russia and Belarus in 2023 reached $53 billion, an increase of 6% compared to 2022. The growth of the indicator is associated with an increase in economic interaction, an expansion of cooperation in industry and an increase in trade in key sectors. The main categories of Russian exports to Belarus:
- Oil and petroleum products.
- Natural gas.
- Ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
- Industrial equipment.
- Vehicles.
- Plastics and fertilizers.
- Grain crops.
Key Belarusian exports to Russia:
- Agricultural machinery.
- Industrial machines.
- Dairy products.
- Meat products.
- Pharmaceuticals.
- Textiles and clothing.
- Steel structures.
The head of the Center for Belarusian Studies of the Institute Europe RAS Nikolai Mezhevich noted that the amount of trade is comparable to the annual revenue parts of the budgets, and Estonia Latvia Lithuania combined.
The Minister of Economy of Belarus Yuri Chebotar in February 2025 announced plans to introduce barter transactions in foreign trade.
Expert on legal issues of the Union State, associate professor of the PRUE named after G.V. Plekhanova Natalya Svechnikova emphasized that certain sectors of the economy within the framework of the Union State are moving from import substitution to import conservation, especially in the field of the military-industrial complex, information security and science-intensive industries.[1]
The share of Russia in the foreign trade turnover of Belarus reached 70%
At the end of January 2025, Foreign Minister Belarus Maxim Ryzhenkov said that 70% of its foreign trade in the republic falls on. Russia He noted that Belarus she always adhered to the principle of multipolarity, according to which foreign policy should be based on several centers of power. Nevertheless, even at the same time, Russia plays a key role in the economic interests of Belarus.
 | But no matter how much we want to implement the principle that we have always said that a third of our interests should be Russia, a third should be a collective West and a third should be a distant arc, still, even in this configuration, Russia's role will always be decisive, "Ryzhenkov said in a conversation with Izvestia. |  |
2023
Growth in the export of construction services to Russia by 8.5%
In 2023, the export of construction, engineering and architectural services from Belarus to Russia increased by 8.5%. This data was provided on June 24, 2024 by the First Deputy Minister of Architecture and Construction of Belarus Oleg Shvets.
According to the financial news agency Finmarket, the volume of exports of construction services to Russia amounted to $716.9 million. The growth rate by 2022 reached 108.5%, with a plan of 106%. Russia remains one of the key trading partners of Belarus in the field of construction and architecture, and cooperation covers more than 70 regions of Russia.
Oleg Shvets noted that the priority regions for the supply of building materials are the Central, North-Western and Southern federal districts. The interaction includes design, construction and scientific and technical cooperation. Large projects, the completion of which is scheduled for 2025-2026, are being implemented in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In particular, it is planned to complete the construction of a school for 1.2 thousand places in Balakhna and an educational facility for 1.5 thousand places in the village of Krutaya, Kstovsky district.
Belarusian specialists are also working on the construction of educational facilities in the Krasnodar Territory and the Pskov Region, and residential areas are being built in the Kaluga, Kaliningrad, Kursk and Bryansk regions, as well as in St. Petersburg. According to First Deputy Minister Oleg Shvets, a "symmetrical" project is being implemented in St. Petersburg: the Belorussky Quarter is being built, while the St. Petersburg Quarter is being built in Minsk.
In addition, Belstroytsentr-holding organizations participate in construction and installation work at industrial facilities in Moscow, Moscow, Tula, Murmansk and Leningrad regions, as well as in the Perm Territory.[2]
Belarus in 2 years increased exports to Russia by $8.5 billion to $25 billion
At the end of 2023, the volume of Belarusian exports to Russia reached $25 billion, which is a record figure. Growth compared to the previous year was recorded at 9.1%. At the same time, over the course of two years (2022-2023), Belarus increased exports to the Russian Federation by $8.5 billion. Such figures were announced on February 13, 2024 by the Embassy of Belarus in Russia.
| | Western sanctions triggered the growth of supplies to the Russian market. The issue of reorienting $10.5 billion in exports to friendly countries, in particular to the Russian Federation, was by and large a question of the survival of our economy. In two years, we have grown in export supplies to the Russian market by $8.5 billion, - said the Ambassador of Belarus to the Russian Federation Dmitry Krutoy. | |
According to him, an important indicator of the success of integration processes between countries is the implementation of investment projects. This is, in particular, the supply of Belarusian components and components to Russian enterprises within the framework of the import substitution program. Krutoy notes that Rosatom, Rostec, the UAC and other representatives of Russian business "are ready to finance import-substituting projects for their own needs." He noted that for two years (by the end of 2023), representatives of Belarus visited almost all the largest Russian enterprises ready to cooperate with Belarus. With each of them there are medium-term supply programs for components and auto components.
In early February 2024, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko announced that the volume of mutual trade between the republic and the Russian Federation in 2023 increased by 6% on an annualized basis and reached approximately $53 billion. Settlements in national currencies between Belarus and the Russian Federation at the end of 2023 reached a record level in history - 92% of the total.[3]
2022
Trade with Russia for the first time reached $50 billion
In 2022, for the first time in history, trade between Belarus and Russia reached $50 billion.
Delivery of light industry goods to Russia for $1.1 billion in 9 months
Belarus delivered $1.1 billion to the Russian market for light industry goods in January-September 2022.
2021
The fourth largest importer to Russia
Lukashenko urged Putin "not to steam" and return to the planned economy
Russia and Belarus are able to live on full self-sufficiency: for this it is enough to return to the planned model of the economy, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Union State Secretary Grigor Rapota.
According to Lukashenko, who will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in two days, neither Moscow nor Minsk should "steam" because of Western sanctions.
| | "Russia, like us, is trying to scare everyone with some sanctions. I'm from the Soviet era. I know what a state plan is as planned. I figured out so, my God, that we were fluttering and parading. We can calculate everything and fully provide for ourselves. With the exception of some details, "the BelTA state agency quotes Lukashenka in February 2021. | |
Self-sufficiency can be made complete within 3-5 years, after which Russia Belarus other former republics of the USSR - and, Kazakhstan Ukraine Lukashenka believes.
2021: Shrinking trade deficit with Russia due to lower oil prices
In 2020, Russia's export advantage sharply decreased: exports to Belarus in the first half of the year amounted to $6.9 billion, and imports - $5.7 billion. This is due to the fact that in Russian exports to Belarus, 46% (according to 2019 data) falls on hydrocarbons - oil, oil products and natural gas. In 2020, oil and gas prices fell, in addition, Russia reduced oil exports under the OPEC + agreement. In January - June 2020, Russia supplied only $2.3 billion of hydrocarbons to Belarus - less than a quarter of last year's value.
With the exception of the oil and gas that Russia supplies to Minsk and the milk and meat that Belarus supplies to Russia, the commodity structure of mutual trade is very close: in 2019, Russia exported goods from the categories "Electric Machines," "Nuclear Reactors, Boilers and Equipment," "Ground Transport Means" and "Plastics and Products from Them" to Belarus for a total of $3.7 billion, and imported products from Belarus from the same categories for $4.2 billion.
2019: Declining trade with Russia
In the external trade between Belarus and the world, the share of Russia is about 48%, and in terms of imports, the republic depends on Russia by 56%. The second largest trading partner of Belarus with a large lag is the European Union - 18% of the total trade turnover of the republic.
In mutual trade with Belarus, Russia is a net exporter: in 2019, Russian goods worth $20.8 billion were delivered there, and products worth $13.1 billion were imported from Belarus.
Notes
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