Budget cuts for non-priority budget lines

According to the Finance Ministry, in Q1 2014 Belaruskali was the most profitable enterprise in Belarus with a net profit of BYR 1.349 billion (EUR 103.5 million) (a 5.7 times increase compared with Q1 2013).

Growth in Belaruskali’s performance was due to the abolition of the export duty on potash fertilisers, which, in turn, resulted in lower budget revenues (by at least BYR 2.5 in H1 2014). To compensate for the shortfall in budget revenues the government may increase the tax burden on other profitable ventures, as well as cut back on government spending on non-priority areas. In H2 2014 refineries are expected to improve financial performance due to rising oil supplies for 2014. Loss-making mechanical engineering enterprises (MAZ, BelAZ, and MTZ) may receive additional financial support from the budget.