Belneftekhim’s oil products export to Russia 32.6% up in January-September

In January-September 2014 the export of oil products to the Russian market rose by 32.6%, BelTA learned from Igor Lyashenko, Chairman of the Belarusian petrochemical concern Belneftekhim, at the session of the concern’s board on 29 October.

The executive pointed out that among other ones this factor contributed to the overall failure of the concern to hit its performance targets in January-September 2014. “A 32.6% increase in the shipment of oil products to the Russian market reduced the overall export of oil products by 0.86 percentage points due to the absence of customs duties in prices for commodities traded within the framework of the Customs Union,” said the Belneftekhim head.

According to the preliminary data voiced by Igor Lyashenko, in January-September 2014 the growth rate of merchandise export by Belneftekhim enterprises amounted to 99.8% while the target was close to 104% as against January-September 2013. He attributed the decline to a number of reasons. In particular, more oil products are now sold on the Belarusian home market for consequent processing. Apart from that, Belneftekhim’s foreign trade has been affected by a drastic decrease in oil quotations, the decline of the exchange rate of the Russian ruble and the unfavorable competition situation on international markets with regard to Belneftekhim’s staple products.

According to the Belneftekhim press service, January-September 2014 saw a considerable decrease in demand for and prices for tires, paints and varnishes, fertilizers, and polyethylene terephthalate.

Meanwhile, in January-September 2014 the export of services by Belneftekhim enterprises rose by 7.8% while the profitability of sales in the industry exceeded the target and amounted to 13.8%.