Belarus GDP Grows

Belarus’ gross domestic product rose 0.3% year on year in the first quarter of 2017, the National Statistical Committee of Belarus said in a statement, Xinhua reported. The official statistics said in January-March 2017 the volume of industrial production and agricultural production grew 4.3% and 1.7% respectively compared with January-March 2016. Compared with the same period of the previous year, investments in fixed assets fell 6.5% in January-March 2017, while retail trade turnover fell 1.4%. The Belarusian government expects to increase its GDP by 0.2% in the first half of 2017 and by 1.7% at the end of the year. In 2016, Belarus’ GDP declined by 2.6%.