OREANDA-NEWS. February 20, 2012. Belarus’ GDP was seen grow 2% and is expected to grow 2.5% in Q1, vice minister of economy Alexander Yaroshenko told a press-conference on Wednesday.

Belarus’ GDP growth continues to be on the decline, making around 2% in January and some 2.5% in Q1, the vice minister said.

Also, Belarus is expected to produce a foreign trade surplus of some USD 15 million in January, the vice minister said.

As previously reported, Belarus’ GDP expanded 5.3% on the year in January-December 2011 to 274.3 trillion Belarusian rubles (USD 32.4 billion at the central bank’s exchange rate).

Belarus’ foreign commodity trade deficit amounted to USD 5.453 billion in January-December 2011, compared to a USD 9.601 billion deficit in 2010.

The GDP forecast for 2012 stands at 5-5.5%.