OREANDA-NEWS. November 2, 2012. Belarus’ industrial output increased 7.7% on the year in January-September 2012 to 473.915 trillion Belarusian rubles (Br), or USD 55.82 at the official rate of the National Bank, an official in the Statistics Committee told.

Production of coke, oil products and nuclear materials rose 16.5% on the year in January-September 2012 to 103.879 trillion rubles (USD 12.235 billion). The output of food products, including beverages and tobacco goods, increased 5.1% to 81.388 trillion rubles (USD 9.586 billion). Chemical production expanded 38.5% to 66.684 trillion rubles (USD 7.854 billion).

The output of metallurgical industries grew 3.2% to Br29.836 trillion (USD 3.514 bn), production of vehicles and equipment increased 15.4% to 19.698 trillion rubles (USD 2.32 billion).

The output of plastic and rubber goods increased 6.8% to 17.139 trillion rubles (USD 2.019 million). The output of electronic and optical equipment in Belarus increased by 1.4% in January-September 2012 to 14.472 trillion rubles (USD 1.705 billion).

Production of machines and equipment decreased 0.7% to 44.695 trillion rubles (USD 5.264 billion); the output of non-metallic mineral products, including cement, glass and lime, declined by 6.6% to 19.531 trillion rubles (USD 2.3 million), the volume of wood processing remained unchanged year on year at 5.449 trillion rubles (USD 641.814 million).

Return on sales of industrial products rose to 10.6% in January-September 2012 from 9.8% in January-September 2011.

The number of loss-making industrial companies in January-August 2012 accounted for 10.7% of the total number, up from 10.8% in January-August 2011.

There has been stable growth in Belarus’ industries, although some sectors show signs of decline. All in all, industrial growth shrank 0.4 percentage points in January-September. Evidently, Belarus’ economy has slowed down its growth and even shows signs of stagnation. In the context of growing inflation and shrinking fixed-capital investments, the government will hardly be able to report a 5.5% GDP growth at the end of the year, the expert said.