(BelTA) – In H1 2013 the export of merchandise and services by enterprises run by the Belarusian Forestry Ministry rose by 15% from H1 2012 to $64.9 million, BelTA learned from Sergei Khamutovsky, Head of the Forest Products Sales Office of the Forestry Ministry.

In his words, Poland tops the list of consumers of Belarusian forest products by getting 44% of the export. It is followed by Lithuania (12%), Germany (10%), Sweden and Latvia (6% each), with 2.6% of the exports shipped to Russia.

In January-June 2013 enterprises of the Belarusian Forestry Ministry imported $3.3 million worth of woodworking equipment, power saws and spare parts, other commodities and services.

The foreign trade surplus amounted to $61.9 million, 94.9% as against the total export.

All the oblast forestry industry industrial groups hit their assigned export targets in H1 2013. According to Sergei Khamutovsky, Mogilev Oblast is the top exporter with $11,800 in export per 1,000ha of forest area, with the average figure across the Forestry Ministry at $9,100. The figures for Grodno Oblast and Minsk Oblast are $11,700 and $11,600 respectively. The export of Brest Oblast is $8,300 per 1,000ha of forest area, $6,900 in Vitebsk Oblast and $6,400 in Gomel Oblast.