Belarus’ foreign trade improvement in March 2014 was short-lived

On May 30^th, the National Statistical Committee published data on foreign trade in goods in January – April 2014.

The international trade deficit in April totalled USD 231.7 million, which exceeded the Q1 2014 deficit (USD 159.7 million). It implies that the external economic environment for Belarusian goods has continued to deteriorate and, above all, on the Russian market. Belarus has limited opportunities to increase her exports and to diversify supplies. The government might introduce additional measures to limit consumer imports, increase the availability of domestic products in retail chains, and increase subsidies to exporters. In addition, exporters might fiddle with statistical reporting.