The results of the work of city enterprises were summarized at the Vitebsk City Executive Committee

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of January 26, 2016 No. 26 "On Amendments and Additions to the Directive of the President of the Republic of Belarus", the Directive of the President of the Republic of Belarus of June 14, 2007 No. 3 "Economy and thrift are the main factors of the state's economic security" is in effect in a new version - "On priority directions for strengthening the economic security of the state".

The priority directions defined in it today are: systematic export diversification, increasing the output of innovative and high-tech products, cardinal changes in the quality of management of the country's industrial complex in order to progressively approach the European level of labor productivity, and increasing the level of the country's energy security.

The work of management bodies, enterprises and organizations of the city of Vitebsk on the implementation of Presidential Decree No. 3 "On priority directions for strengthening the economic security of the state" was discussed at a regular meeting of the city executive committee. The report was delivered by Svetlana Panchenko, Head of the Economics Department.

The speaker noted that one of the most important areas for further work envisages the growth of export potential.

Currently, more than five hundred organizations in the city are engaged in foreign trade activities. Trade is conducted with 80 countries of the world. Goods with the Vitebsk brand were exported in January-April of the current year to 46 states, including 237 organizations of communal property and without departmental subordination to 36 countries.

73 percent of exports fall on the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. About 20 percent of products are exported to the states of the European Union.

Export supplies to Germany, the Russian Federation, China, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Finland have shown growth.

Economic entities of the city, Svetlana Panchenko emphasized, continue to work purposefully on further export diversification. In the current year, for the first time, timber supplies were made to Austria and Poland,spare parts for agricultural machinery to Afghanistan, outerwear and ferrous metal products to Germany, dry breakfasts and confectionery to Georgia and China, medical equipment to Kazakhstan, night vision devices to Moldova and the Czech Republic, alcoholic beverages to the Netherlands and France.

Compared to January-April 2015, the share of high-tech and science-intensive products in the total export volume increased by 6.4 percent and amounts to 22 percent. The export of auto-hydraulic lifts, telescopic sights, binoculars, heat and water metering devices, and radio equipment has increased.

The foreign trade balance of goods is positive; however, the value volume of exports for January-April was only 91 percent of the same period last year, and for enterprises of communal property and without departmental subordination - 98.5 percent.

Increasing export volumes and their diversification are inextricably linked with the increased production of innovative and high-tech products and the improvement of the industrial complex management process as a whole.

Innovative products are produced by 37 industrial enterprises in the city, or 53 percent of those accounted for by statistics.

About half of the shipped products are innovative at the unitary enterprise "Polymerkonstruktsiya"; more than 40 percent are at joint-stock companies "Vizas", "Keramika", and "VZEP"; almost a third are at private enterprises "Rubikon" and "Energokomplekt", and the confectionery factory "Vitba".

Private enterprises "Allianceplast", "Simurg", "SIVital", "Vitstroytehmash", and "Vitebskiye pod"emniki", the radio components plant "Monolit", the joint-stock company "Vityaz", and others are actively working on implementing innovative technologies, developing, and producing high-tech products.

Svetlana Panchenko noted that one of the directions of economic security under Directive No. 3 provides for increasing the efficiency of management, reducing prime costs, and saving resources. These same requirements are also laid down in Decree of the Head of State No. 78.

For January-March of the current year, for organizations whose property is located incommunal property, and organizations with a share of communal property in their assets of 50 percent or more, the cost reduction was "minus" 4.4 percent.

In January-April 2016, city organizations received 29 trillion rubles in revenue from the sale of products, works, and services, including over 19 trillion rubles from industrial enterprises. An accelerated growth of revenue rates over cost of goods sold rates was ensured for the city as a whole, in transport, and in industry.

Sales profitability was 7.4 percent, including 9.1 percent in industry. Out of 70 officially accounted industrial enterprises, 10, or 14 percent, were unprofitable in January-April. Only 8 industrial enterprises operated with a profitability of 20 percent or higher. Business entities of the city received 824 billion rubles in net profit, 80 percent of which was provided by industrial enterprises.

For 4 months, 73 business entities of the city operated with a negative financial result, including 30 organizations of republican subordination, 28 of communal property, and 15 of non-departmental subordination. The amount of net losses is over 220 billion rubles.

According to preliminary data, by the end of the half-year, a number of business entities will achieve profitable operations. However, the requirement of Directive No. 3 regarding ensuring break-even operations for all organizations is not yet being met by some managers.

Deputy Chairman of the City Executive Committee, Zinaida Koroleva, once again outlined the main requirements of Directive No. 3 of the President of the Republic of Belarus and asked a specific question about when to expect profitable operations from the heads of unprofitable organizations.

For example, the new director of OJSC "SZhB No. 3", Viktor Mitronov, despite the fact that the enterprise has almost 3 billion in losses, reported that the team is capable of fulfilling the set task. A program to achieve break-even operations has already been formed. The intention is to work effectively during the summer months and eliminate losses.

Deputy General Director for Economics of OJSC "Stroitelny trest No.

9, Vitebsk" Anatoly Kolkov spoke about the fact that the structure of the joint-stock company will change, and reorganization is underway. The team is determined to achieve break-even operations.

Zinaida Koroleva also demanded more effective work from the head of "Vittorgprom" Georgy Rusalovsky, as instead of one previously unprofitable enterprise with a negative result, all three are now operating, one of them with a loss of only two million rubles.

— Requirements for all managers: do not have debts, work with profit, pay wages on time, implement innovative projects, — Zinaida Koroleva emphasized in conclusion.

Nina Tulinova, "Vitbichi".