Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 6 August (BelTA) – The agricultural industry of the country should become one of the main drivers of growth of the national economy in the third quarter of 2014, Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich said at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, BelTA has learned.

According to him, this year agriculture has noticeably accelerated. "Agriculture is expected to be one of the main drivers of economic growth in the third quarter. We have every reason to complete the harvest campaign on a good note, make a rational use of the harvest, and get a return on the funds invested in agriculture," said Mikhail Myasnikovich. The head of state and the government have created all conditions for that.

Furthermore, today there is an opportunity to "untangle the tangle” of the problems that have accumulated in the industry, in particular, with the help of the decrees adopted by the head of state, through optimizing the financing.

Talking about the performance of the Belarusian economy in H1 2014, the head of government said that the growth has accelerated. What is more important is that it has happened on a healthy, non-monetary, basis.

"In H1 this year we secured a surplus of foreign trade in goods and services. The country has a positive balance in supply and demand of the foreign currency, across all market segments (businesses, people, banks),” said the prime minister. All this, he said, takes a great effort both on behalf of the government and the National Bank. "We cannot say yet that the state of affairs in the monetary sphere is ideal but the stabilization has been ensured," said Mikhail Myasnikovich.