VITEBSK, 27 December (BelTA) – The merchandise export of Vitebsk-based companies is projected to increase by 25% in 2017, Vitebsk mayor Viktor Nikolaikin said at the session of the Vitebsk City Council of Deputies, BelTA has learned.
Half of the industrial output produced in Vitebsk is bound for export. The foreign trade in services is forecast to surge by almost 200% in 2017 (against 2016). The growth was achieved across almost all types of services. The biggest growth (more than twice) has been demonstrated in the export of construction and transport services.
As a result, the city is set to run a surplus of the foreign trade in goods and services in 2017 in the amount of over $126 million.
“This is an excellent result, especially since a few years ago we only dreamed of reaching a zero balance of foreign trade,” Viktor Nikolaikin said.
Vitebsk companies export products to 54 countries. In 2017 the Marko holding company shipped the first batch of footwear to Azerbaijan, Namibia and the UAE. Vitstroitekhmash and the engineering company Vitebsk Lifts branched out into the markets of Armenia and Moldova. Vistan Plant advanced to the market of Vietnam, Vitebsk Distillery Pridvinie the United States market.