OREANDA-NEWS  On 03 March was announced, that a session of Belarus - Saint Petersburg Business Cooperation Council took place.

Science-intensive products make up 50% of the trade between Belarus and Saint Petersburg, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said at a session of Belarus - Saint Petersburg Business Cooperation Council. According to the Belarusian head of Government, in 2006 high-technology products accounted for 13-18% of the bilateral trade. In 2008 their share soared to reach 47%. 'It means that science-intensive products made up 47% of our USD 1.6 bln trade,' these products include first of all machines, tools, engines, Sergei Sidorsky said.

The trade between Belarus and Saint Petersburg is increasing 30-40% annually which is crucial amid the global financial crisis. 'We will spare no effort to maintain the growth, therefore we signed a programme of trade, economic, sci-tech and humanitarian cooperation for 2009-2011 which includes specific joint projects,' the Prime Minister noted.

A joint anti-crisis action plan was signed at the recent session of the heads of government of Belarus and Russia in Moscow. The first article of this plan states that Belarus and Russia will have a common market for commodity manufacturers. The document also confirms that economic entities have equal access to bank loans, Government contracts and purchases. “'The future depends on how much we will focus now on the development of our economies,' Sergei Sidorsky said. The Governments of the two countries intend to make sure that the two economies will come out of the crisis even more competitive.

Sergei Sidorsky stressed that all projects are important, from machinery construction to microelectronics. He also spoke of the importance to preserve commodity markets amid the crisis.

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko noted that relations with Belarus are considered as a priority. Belarus is St. Petersburg’s biggest trading partner among CIS member states. 'We have been successfully cooperating in all areas, from industry, trade to agriculture. Today we need to boost the volume of trade and to set up joint ventures,' she said.

The programme of trade, economic, sci-tech and humanitarian cooperation includes 63 projects. For example, Power Machines Company jointly with the Energy Ministry of Belarus will be upgrading Belarusian energy systems. Power Machines and Zvezda intend to implement joint projects with the Belarusian Autoworks. There are projects in microelectronics, too.

Saint Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko put forward a proposal for setting up a store chain system to sell Belarusian foodstuffs in Saint Petersburg at a session of the Council for business cooperation between Saint Petersburg and the Republic of Belarus. It is necessary to choose at least 50 locations for setting up small convenience stores to sell Belarusian food, said the Governor. The shops should have a common architectural style, colour and the title that Saint Petersburg residents can easily recognise.

Valentina Matviyenko gave instructions to the Saint Petersburg administration to accelerate the preparation of proposals for allocating the premises and the development of the programme. The locations should be determined and agreed with the Belarusian side within two months. After that the entire package of documents should be agreed, she remarked.

Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky underscored, it is necessary to start building the food store chain on June 1, 2009. Belarusian construction materials should be used.

Belarus will get another part, USD 500 mln, of the Russian loan in February, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky told reporters following a session of the Belarus-St. Petersburg Business Cooperation Council. This is a part of the second tranche of the stabilization loan, which Russia will give Belarus in line with the loan agreement. Another USD 500 mln, as expected, will be provided in March, Sergei Sidorsky said.

The Finance Ministry of Russia has proposed dividing the second tranche in equal parts: USD 500 mln in February and USD 500 mln in early March,” The Prime Minister said. The Belarusian side has agreed and now experts are in Moscow. The first part will be provided to Belarus today or tomorrow.

When asked about Belarus’ request to extend a RUB 100bn loan, Sergei Sidorsky said that the loan is needed to facilitate bilateral trade. During the financial crisis it will be much efficient is the countries used using Russian ruble.

‘This is why the proposal of the Belarusian side was welcomed by the Russian government and upheld by our presidents; in March 2009 these funds can be injected in the trade,’ the Belarusian head of government added. He pointed out that the pace of utilization of these funds will depend on the collaboration between finance ministries and central banks.

The participants of the session of Belarus -St. Petersburg Business Cooperation Council signed a number of documents: a protocol of the second session of Belarus – St. Petersburg Business Cooperation Council and a programme of trade, economic, sci-tech and humanitarian cooperation for 2009-2011 between the government of St. Petersburg of the Russian Federation and the government of the Republic of Belarus. Both documents were signed by Co-Chairperson of the Council, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko and Co-Chairman of the Council, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky. Apart from that, a cooperation agreement was signed between St. Petersburg Stock Exchange and the Belarusian Ministry of Architecture and Construction to supply Belarusian goods to exchange auctions.

A reminder, Russia’s state loan will be extended to Belarus for 15 years at LIBOR+3% with a five-year deferment on the principal debt. The funds will be transferred in two tranches. USD 1 bln was granted on November 18, 2008, another USD 1 bln will be transferred in 2009.

In 2009 the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus intends to double meat and dairy exports to St. Petersburg. According to foreign economic links department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, companies have already concluded Q1 contracts to deliver 15,100 tonnes of beef, 6,000 tonnes of pork, 4,200 tonnes of poultry, 1,600 tonnes of semi-finished meat products, 3 mln eggs. Exports of many products will increase 1.5 times as against Q1 last year. Agricultural companies are set to boost deliveries of butter, potatoes and vegetables, flour, dried fat-free milk, hard cheese, condensed milk and tinned meat.

To increase exports to the North-Western Federal District of Russia, including to St. Petersburg, Belarus has developed a commodity distribution network. Now it includes ten entities. Four of them are partially owned by Belarus. These are a representative office of the Rogachev concentrated milk factory (49.9%), RosBelPolotskAgro (50%), “Trading house “Stolbtsy meat-packing factory” (4%) and North-Western Russian-Belarusian Trading House (50%). last year the sales through the commodity distribution network amounted to USD 30.36 mln, including through the entities partially owned by Belarus to 12.4 mln. For example, North-Western Russian-Belarusian Trading House sold USD 2.5 mln worth of products.

In 2008, exports to St. Petersburg hit USD 185.4 mln, up 34.6% from a year before. The exports that grew particularly fast include pork (4.4 times), potatoes (4 times), sausages (2.4 times), flour (2 times), canned meat (1.6 times), beef (1.2 times), butter (1.2 times). Dairy products accounted for 43.1% of the exports, meat and meat products 50.3%, vegetables 2.1%, rye flour 3.1%.

Exports to St. Petersburg were executed by 123 organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Grodno, Slutsk, Brest and Vitebsk meat-packing factories exported products worth USD 10 - USD 17 mln. Savushkin Product sold USD 9.7 mln worth of goods, the Rogachev concentrated milk factory, Kletsk creamery and Babushkina Krynka USD 3.5 - USD 4.9 mln, the Slutsk cheese-making plant USD 1.9 mln.

The Belarusian enterprises cooperate most actively with such St. Petersburg companies as North-Western Russian-Belarusian Trading House, Fortuna Trading House, Semena SPB, Pillar, Fortuna, Meatland and Gerion-1.

St. Petersburg is the third biggest importer of Belarusian products among 66 regions of Russia following Moscow and the Moscow oblast.

To ensure more vigorous promotion of products, Belarusian enterprises participate in various exhibitions and forums held in St. Petersburg. At present, the schedules and venues of exhibition/fairs of Belarusian companies in 2009 are being specified.