Golovchenko announces main figures of Belarus' economic development for 2024

On January 17, the Prime Minister announced the main figures of our development for 2024.

GDP increased by 4%. This is higher than the forecast, by the way, we have had such dynamics for the second year in a row. The growth of real incomes of Belarusians is almost three times higher than expected. And inflation, on the contrary, is lower. The increase in investments in new production and technology is also twice as much as planned at the start of 2024. Then the tasks seemed tense, but at the same time, each figure was verified. The situation on world markets, internal capabilities and our reserves were taken into account.

Our economy has been growing at a rate higher than the world average for 2 years in a row. And this is despite the difficulties of logistics, market turbulence and sanctions restrictions. The President and the government constantly kept the situation under control, monitored all areas and made tactical decisions. And this gave a result. Today, the government announced the main figures that speak of the sustainability of our development and create a good basis for the current year.

At the start of 2024, they predicted GDP growth of 3.8%, but in fact they got 4. The task in January 2024 seemed difficult and stressful. They developed a plan and communicated it to each enterprise manager.

The driver is industry, plus almost 5.5%. The retail turnover increased by 12, and catering by 11%.

And this means that incomes also grew, which allowed Belarusians to buy more goods in stores and go to cafes. The activity of HTP residents also played a plus for the common piggy bank. The IT sector is gaining momentum.

Inflation with a forecast of 6% for the year is 5.2%. This is despite the fact that our neighbors have much higher figures. This means that our earnings were not eaten up by rising prices.

At the beginning of the five-year period, there were dips in investments. But after that, the situation leveled out, with the inflow of capital at accelerated rate. And this means that new enterprises and innovative goods emerge. After all, money is spent on equipment and technology.

With such investments, it is not surprising that Belarusian products are in demand in the markets of all continents. We have customers in 154 countries of the world. Moreover, we sent goods to 14 of them for the first time. These are the countries of Africa and the Global South.

We are expected to earn at least $50 billion from exports of goods and services (although we wanted more). The final figures for foreign sales will be known in February. But the results for 11 months at 45 billion is a record for 12 years. With such demand, it is not surprising that warehouse stocks are minimal. We will maintain this pace and even higher this year. Although everything is not easy. Our President has said more than once that the year will be tense.