Private business has not yet occupied its niche in production and consumer services in Vitebsk - City Executive Committee

Private business has not yet occupied its niche in production and the sphere of household services. This opinion was expressed today at a briefing in connection with Vitebsk being recognized as the best regional center in Belarus for doing business by the Deputy Chairperson of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Zinaida Koroleva, BELTA correspondent reports.

"Small and medium-sized businesses do not fully realize their potential opportunities in organizing production, especially in the production of import-substituting and export-oriented products. The niche in the sphere of household services is also not occupied by private individuals. This concerns the repair of vehicles, housing, and sewing products. A deficit of such services is particularly noticeable in new microdistricts," noted the Deputy Chairperson of the City Executive Committee. She added that private businesses need to participate more actively in shared housing construction in order to organize repair service workshops on the first floors of apartment buildings.

At the same time, Zinaida Koroleva emphasized that small and medium-sized businesses make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of Vitebsk. Currently, 14.9 thousand economic entities operate in the non-state sector of the city's economy, including 10.7 thousand individual entrepreneurs, 3.7 thousand small enterprises, and 481 artisans. In total, more than 41 thousand people are employed in this sector of the economy, which is 17.8% of the economically active population. In the total volume of tax revenues to the city budget for January-May of the current year, the share of small businesses and individual entrepreneurs amounted to more than 26%.