In January-July 2009 Belarus traded with 164 countries, exporting commodities to 126 countries and importing products from 153 countries, the National Statistics Committee told.

The area of Belarus’ trade has expanded since early this year. For comparison, in January Belarus traded with 127 countries, exporting commodities to 86 countries and importing products from 118 countries.

In January-July Belarus’ main trade partners were Russia (47.2% of the total trade), the Netherlands (8%), Germany (6.1%), Ukraine (5.8%), Latvia (3.5%), Poland (3.3%), China (2.5%), the UK (2%) as well as Italy and Brazil.

In January-July 2009 Belarus’ export of commodities to Russia shrank by 46.5% to $3,521 million over the same period last year, with the country accounting for 31.9% of Belarus’ export volume. The export to the Netherlands went down by 44.4% to $1,986 million. Consequences of the global crisis have affected Belarus’ trade with many other countries. Thus, in January-July Belarus’ export to Ukraine amounted to $847.3 million (48.1% as against the same period of last year), Poland — $458.9 million (40.2%), Germany — $409.2 million (78.3%), Latvia — $840 million (62.5%). Meanwhile, export to India shot up by 145.1% in January-July 2009 to $227.4 million.

In January-July 2009 Belarus’ merchandise trade amounted to $26.33 billion, or 59.9% as against the same period of last year. Belarus’ export shrank to $11.022 billion (53.9%), with the import down to $15.308 billion (65.1%).

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