That calculated dollar amount results from a -78.4% reduction from five years earlier in 2019 when Belarusian exports totaled $33 billion.
Year over year, overall exports sold by Belarus shrank by -36% compared to $11.1 billion starting from 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Belarusian ruble depreciated by -43.8% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -14.5% from 2022 to 2023. Belarus’ weaker local currency made Belarusian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Biggest Belarusian Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data is for 2021. Those metrics show that three-quarters (75.1%) of products exported from Belarus were bought by importers in: Russia (49.2% of the global total), Poland (5.6%), Ukraine (4.3%), Lithuania (4.2%), Germany (2.8%), Kazakhstan (2.7%), mainland China (2%), Latvia (1.6%), Netherlands (1%), Uzbekistan (0.64%), Azerbaijan (0.61%) and United States of America (0.6%).
From a continental perspective, 88.5% of Belarusian exports by value were delivered to fellow European countries while 10% was sold to importers in Asia.
Belarus shipped another 0.8% worth of goods to North America. Even tinier percentages went to Africa (0.5%), Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.01%) mostly Australia and New Zealand.
Given the Belarusian population of 9.3 million people, its total estimated $7.12 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $1,200 for every resident in the Eastern European country. That dollar metric lags the average $1,200 per capita one year earlier during 2022.
Belarus Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Belarusian global shipments during 2023 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.
- Fertilizers: US$2 billion (28.5% of total exports)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $553.7 million (7.8%)
- Wood: $500.5 million (7%)
- Meat: $460 million (6.5%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $349.6 million (4.9%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $248.8 million (3.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $221.8 million (3.1%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $219.9 million (3.1%)
- Machinery including computers: $218.3 million (3.1%)
- Vehicles: $209.9 million (2.9%)
The top 10 export product categories from Belarus exceeded two-thirds (70.3%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
The leading decliner among Belarus’ top 10 export categories was vehicles thanks to a -58.5% year-over-year drop.
Other severely decreasing Belarusian shipments were for wood (down -55.6% from 2022) and the furniture, bedding, lighting, signs and prefabricated buildings category (down -34.3%).
Products Generating Biggest Trade Surpluses for Belarus
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.
- Fertilizers: US$2 billion (Down by -12.7% since 2022)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $539.1 million (Down by -11.2%)
- Wood: $479.4 million (Down by -56.3%)
- Meat: $410.6 million (Down by -22.5%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $338.8 million (Down by -21.6%)
- Iron, steel: $80.1 million (Down by -74.3%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $69.1 million (Up by 12.7%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $63.4 million (Down by -21.6%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $59.2 million (Down by -74.5%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $54.8 million (Down by -37.9%)
Belarus has highly positive net exports in the international trade of fertilizers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Belarus’ strong competitive advantages under the fertilizers-related product category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Belarus
Belarus incurred an estimated -US$10.1 billion trade deficit during 2023, expanding by 572.8% from -$1.5 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
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.
- Vehicles: -US$4.8 billion (Up by 162.8% since 2022)
- Machinery including computers: -$2.1 billion (Up by 79.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.2 billion (Up by 49%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$571.2 million (Up by 8.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$555.3 million (Up by 25.4%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$411.3 million (Up by 18.6%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$361.5 million (Up by 61.3%)
- Tanning, dyes, paints, varnishes, ink: -$345.7 million (Up by 38.1%)
- Fruits, nuts: -$238.9 million (Up by 14.4%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$198.4 million (Up by 42.2%)
Belarus has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the vehicles product category, particularly for cars and automotive parts or accessories.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Belarusian competitive disadvantages in the global machinery market, but also represent key opportunities for Belarus to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations and trade alliances.
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)
In macroeconomic terms, Belarus’ total exported goods represent 3.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($223.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 3.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 5.3% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Belarus’ total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe and including estimates.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Unemployment in Belarus averaged 9.182% for 2023, down from an average 9.228% one year earlier in 2022 according to the International Monetary Fund statistics.
See also Belarus Top Trading Partners, Russia’s Top 10 Imports, Ukraine’s Top 10 Imports, Russia’s Top 10 Exports, European Union’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 16, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on September 16, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 16, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 16, 2024
Wikipedia, Belarus. Accessed on September 16, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on September 16, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Belarus. Accessed on September 16, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on September 16, 2024