OREANDA-NEWS  On 08 September was announced, that the companies registered in Belarus’ six free economic zones increased output 38.8% on the year in January-June to 2.785 trillion Belarusian rubles (Br).

The zones’ companies exported goods worth a total of U.S. USD 733.3 million, up 65.5% on the year in the period, mainly to Russia, which accounted for 75% of all exports with USD 550.2 million. Exports included furniture, foodstuffs, plastic articles, packaging materials, and aluminum constructions.

Imports of the companies registered in free economic zones from outside the CIS amounted to USD 702.9 million, up 67.7% on the year. The key imports were plastics, production equipment, fish and seafood, wood products, aluminum, ferrous metals, meat and meat products.

Return on sales amounted to 12.4% in the first six months, up 3.5 percentage points from January-June 2007. In the first six months, 2,652 jobs were created in Belarus’ free economic zones, and the average wage amounted to 849,000 rubles, up 24.3% on the year.

Belarusian free economic zones had 269 companies as of July 1, 2008, compared to 260 as of January 1, 2008.

Zone Brest has 73 companies, Minsk had 72, Gomel-Raton had 33, Grodnoinvest had 42, Vitebsk had 31 and Mogilev had 18.