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Vitebsk

The city of Vitebsk - one of the largest cities in the country with a large industrial and cultural centre located in the northern region of Belarus. There are 360 thousand people living in the city. The geographical location due to the motorway arteries connecting the largest and developed economic regions of Russia (Sankt - Petersburg and Leningrad region, Moscow and the Moscow area, northwest regions) with Central and the Western Europe is a big advantage to the city. Through the Vitebsk railway station passes the Transeuropean Kritsky transport alleyway №21 (Berlin - Warsaw - Minsk - Moscow) and the Kritsky transport alleyway № 9 (Helsinki - Vitebsk - Gomel - Kiev - Plovdiv).

The main income of Vitebsk is industry. Major industries include engineering, metal, wood-working, electronic and the food-processing industry.

The development of the city includes the attraction of foreign investments, residential construction, reconstruction of industrial enterprises and manufactured products. Special attention is given to upgrade the technology sector and the export-oriented factories.

Economy

Among the most developed sectors of the regional economy are fuel, electric power, light, chemical and petrochemical, food processing, and construction materials industries accounting for about 47%, 28.5%, 24%, 12,5%, 12% and 10% of the total national output, respectively.

The fuel-energy sector generates more than 55% of the region’s industrial output.

Among major industrial concerns of the Vitebsk Region are Polimir, Naftan and Polotsk Steklovolokno chemical and petrochemical concerns, Lukomol Power Station generating half of electricity in Belarus, Vityaz, a major Belarusian TV maker, Orsha Flax Processing Plant, the largest flax fabrics manufacturer in Europe, Vitebsk Carpets Company, a carpet manufacturer with a hundred year history and the largest maker of 8-color double-piece jacquard carpets in the CIS, KIM Open Joint Stock Company , a garments maker, and Krasnyy Oktyabr, a footwear manufacturer.

The following large private companies operate in the Vitebsk Region: Belwest Russian-Belarusian Joint Venture, a leading footwear maker, Marko, a footwear producer, Unidrev, a manufacturer of medium density fiberboard furniture fronts, Vikos, a food processing company, Vitella owned by Vikos Narungsmittel GMBH, a maker of chocolate icing.

Private Enterprise

There are 2.6 small businesses per 1,000 residents in the Vitebsk Region, which is in line with the nationwide average, except for Minsk, where about 50% of small companies are clustered. The lowest concentration of small firms is registered in the Gomel (2.1) and Brest (2.2) Regions while the highest after the City of Minsk is in the Minsk (3.2) and Mogilev (2.7) Regions.

Export

An average of 55% of the region’s industrial output is exported. The annual foreign trade turnover equals about 3.5 billion dollars. Exports are dominated by oil derivatives (62%), followed by ready-made garments, polyethylene, fiberglass, meat and dairy products, footwear and equipment.

Vitebsk Region companies export to more than 80 countries and to 70 regions of Russia. The region’s key trade partners in the CIS are Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, as well as Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Estonia, the USA and China in the far abroad.

Foreign Investment

The Vitebsk region hosts companies set up by firms from Germany, Poland, the USA, the Czech Republic, Russia, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania Canada. These entities are involved in the production of construction materials, ready-made garments, foodstuffs, electronics, veterinary medicines, agricultural chemicals, fiber optic cables, water treatment equipment, liquid crystal monitors, lighting equipment and ready-made garment from furs as well as in oil processing, wood processing, and banking.

Just like other Belarusian regions, the Vitebsk Region is in need of foreign investment. Foreign direct investments currently equal less than 10% of Belarus’s GDP, while they exceed 20% in Ukraine and 30% in Poland.