The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Belarusian global shipments during 2019 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Belarus.

1. Fertilizers: US$2.4 billion (11.3% of total exports)
2. Dairy, eggs, honey: $2.2 billion (10.3%)
3. Vehicles: $1.9 billion (8.8%)
4. Wood: $1.3 billion (6%)
5. Machinery including computers: $1.2 billion (5.6%)
6. Mineral fuels including oil: $1.1 billion (4.9%)
7. Plastics, plastic articles: $930.5 million (4.3%)
8. Electrical machinery, equipment: $929.4 million (4.3%)
9. Articles of iron or steel: $818.1 million (3.8%)
10. Iron, steel: $789.8 million (3.6%)

The top 10 exports from Belarus approach two-thirds (62.9%) of the overall value of its global shipments.

Dairy, eggs and honey represents the lone grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 9.2% from 2018 to 2019.

The leading decliner among Belarus’ top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil thanks to a -87.5% drop year over year, weighed down by plummeting international sales of refined petroleum oils.

Drilling down to the more granular 4-digit HTS codes, the most valuable Belarusian exported good were potassic fertilizers (9.9% of total). In second place was cheese including curd (4.4%), trucks (3.7%), refined petroleum oils (3.5%), sawn wood (also 2.2%), tractors (2%) then miscellaneous furniture (1.9%).

The following types of Belarusian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Fertilizers: US$2.4 billion (Down by -24.6% since 2018)
2. Dairy, eggs, honey: $2.2 billion (Up by 9.3%)
3. Wood: $1.2 billion (Down by -6.2%)
4. Meat: $629.1 million (Down by -10.1%)
5. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $404.6 million (Up by 34.2%)
6. Meat/seafood preparations: $296.6 million (Down by -2%)
7. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $204.5 million (Up by 538.9%)
8. Vegetables: $81.5 million (Reversing a -$1.1 million deficit)
9. Manmade staple fibers: $78.6 million (Down by -3.5%)
10. Paper yarn, woven fabric: $62.7 million (Up by 5.9%)

Belarus has highly positive net exports in the international trade of fertilizers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Belarus’s strong competitive advantages under the fertilizers product category.

Overall Belarus incurred an estimated -$10 billion trade deficit during 2019, up by 113.1% from -$4.7 billion one year earlier.

Below are exports from Belarus that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Belarus goods trail Belarusian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$6 billion (Up by 129% since 2018)
2. Machinery including computers: -$2 billion (Down by -13.9%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.1 billion (Down by -25.4%)
4. Iron, steel: -$639.5 million (Down by -10.4%)
5. Pharmaceuticals: -$412.9 million (Down by -15.8%)
6. Plastics, plastic articles: -$380.4 million (Down by -37.3%)
7. Organic chemicals: -$309.7 million (Down by -9.7%)
8. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$291.9 million (Down by -10%)
9. Paper, paper items: -$249.5 million (Down by -21.6%)
10. Aircraft, spacecraft: -$242.9 million (No 2018 data)

Belarus has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related products category, notably for crude oil, coal and petroleum gases.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Belarusian competitive disadvantages in the international energy market, but also represent key opportunities for Belarus to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.

Belarusian Export Companies

Given that Belarus is an emerging economy, it should come as no surprise that no Belarusian corporation appears on the Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia does list Belarusian export companies. Selected examples are shown below.

• BelAZ (haulage, earth-moving equipment)
• Belkamunmash (electric public transport vehicles)
• Belshina (pneumatic tires)
• Beltransgaz (natural gas)
• Byelorussian Steel Works (steel)
• JSC Defense Systems (air defense manufacturer)
• Minsk Automobile Plant (automobiles)
• Minsk Motorcycle (motorcycles)
• Minsk Tractor Works (tractors)
• Olivaria (brewery)
• TransAVIAexport Airlines (cargo airline)
• Velcom (mobile phones)