Exports of residents of the FEZ "Vitebsk" in January-June increased by a third to almost $100 million.

August 4, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotovets - BELTA/. Enterprises-residents of FEZ "Vitebsk" in January-June increased exports of goods by more than 31% compared to the same period in 2010, to almost $100 million, the investment and economic department of the FEZ administration informed a BELTA correspondent.

For six months, the trade turnover of FEZ "Vitebsk" amounted to $188.3 million and increased by more than 22% compared to the same period in 2010. The positive balance of foreign trade activities was $7.6 million, while the volume of imports of raw materials, materials and components exceeded $90 million, which is 13.6% higher than the 2010 level.

The main volume of exports (about 90%) falls on the CIS countries, including Russia's share in the total volume of export supplies exceeding 80%. FEZ residents carry out foreign trade operations also with partners from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Georgia, Romania, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

FEZ residents attracted foreign investments in the amount of about $14 million, including $9.8 million of direct investments. More than 50% of the total volume of direct investments was the reinvestment of profits of foreign investors in the development of existing industries.

In January-June, resident enterprises mastered almost Br41 billion of investments, of which more than 74% (Br30.3 billion) were directed to fixed capital. Taking into account the development of funds from the republican budget for the development of the FEZ "Vitebsk" infrastructure, the total volume of invested capital in fixed assets for the FEZ amounted to Br33.3 billion.

In January-June, resident enterprises increased production output at current prices by more than 54% compared to the same period last year. A total of about Br481 billion worth of products were produced, with the share of import-substituting products being 52.2% of the total output. The net profit of residents exceeded Br55 billion, and Br41.1 billion of taxes, duties and other payments were transferred to the budget and extrabudgetary funds.

In the first half of the year, almost 300 jobs were created at resident enterprises, and their total number reached 9 thousand.

FEZ "Vitebsk" was established in August 1999. Today, 42 investment projects are being implemented in the FEZ, including seven resident enterprises registered in 2011. More than 60% of FEZ residents are joint and foreign enterprises established with the participation of investors from 13 countries, including Germany, Poland, USA, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, Holland, and Israel. The industrial potential of the FEZ is based on enterprises operating in the fields of mechanical engineering, woodworking, food, chemical, fuel, and light industries. The territory of the free economic zone includes 12 sectors with a total area of over 2.1 thousand hectares, which are located within the city limits of Vitebsk, Postavy, Orsha, Baran, the urban-type settlement of Bolbasovo (Orshansky district), as well as in the Vitebsk district.-0-