Belarusian refineries are operating at only a third of capacity
Belarus' GDP, which decreased by almost 2% in January, will continue to fall if the issue of oil supplies from Russia cannot be resolved.
Doctor of Economic Sciences Professor Boris Zheliba stated this in an interview with the Belarusian opposition publication Charter 97, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The fact that our oil refineries are operating at a third of capacity already undermines not only GDP, but also foreign exchange earnings. The Belarusian ruble has already begun to devalue. The Belarusian economy may fall into recession. In any case, this will be the case in the first quarter,” Zheliba warned.
He believes that official Minsk needs to agree to Moscow’s conditions and pay Russian oil companies a premium, which, according to the expert, will be no more than 2 percent of the purchase price.
“The diversification of oil supplies from other regions of the world has already been announced. But it will be more expensive. I think that motor fuel prices will rise at a more significant pace so that our refineries can operate more or less profitably.
Probably, taking into account inflation, gas prices will rise for the population and enterprises. But diversification cannot be done quickly,” the economist states.
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