During the meeting on industrial development on April 9, 2024, Aleksandr Lukashenko once again delivered the address to Belarusian producers calling on import substitution replacement. He also demanded that the level of exports be increased, as well as the quality of Belarusian goods to be brought to approximately the level of Japanese goods.
Following the high-level meeting, the state news agency BelTA disseminated a piece of fake news saying that import substitution had been successfully carried out in Belarus, since 1997.
Here is what the presenter of the video project “In Fact: Decisions of the First” from the state-run news agency, in particular, said:
“More and more restrictions placed on the Belarusian economy were unpleasant, but not fatal. Belarusians have learned to master certain industries. Well, sometimes you can hear the mantra asserting “They can’t produce this here.” But it is sung mainly by experts from abroad who have a negative attitude towards the state and, moreover, have a poor understanding of the situation in the country.”
Then, Vladimir Lobanov, the head of the main department of industrial economics of Belarus Ministry of Economy, outlined data showing positive dynamics:
“By the end of 2023, we have already reached $30 billion in production of import-substituting products. In three years, we only increased by $6 billion. The share of import-substituting products is already 45% of total industrial production.”
Actually, the share of imports in Belarus' GDP in 2005 was 59%. Since that time, it has fluctuated between 55–65%. Only in 2011 and 2012 did it rise above 70%. The import intensity of the GDP (the ratio of all imports over the GDP) in Belarus was reported at almost 66% in 2023, according to the National Bank.
In addition, the Weekly Top Fake reveals how the import substitution projects affect the mass-market assortment in Belarus. In 2010, imported goods on store shelves accounted for almost 30%, and in 2022 — for 42%.
The Belarus Ministry of Trade and Antimonopoly Regulation reports that, in 2022–2023, the long-term decline in domestic goods sales finally stopped and imports began to decline then. In 2023, it decreased by 1.5%, mainly due to the growing share of domestic food products. Whereas, sales of Belarusian non-food products are decreasing.
