The Economy of Belarus
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First of all, talking about any economy, we have to mention the three sectors or industries in it.
The primary sector is extracting industry (production of raw materials like oil, gas, different minerals; fishing; forestry; agriculture; livestock farming; etc.).
The secondary sector is manufacturing industry. It’s connected with producing things from raw materials, for example manufacturing and construction.
The tertiary or service sector consists of industries which provide a service – trade, education, health care, tourism, transport, banking and so on.
A
ll
of these sectors are developed in Belarus (to some extent) but the
manufacturing industry is the most developed one.
Let me start with the first one, extracting industry. As for oil and gas, we don’t have enough reserves of those in Belarus, that’s why we have to import a lot of gas and oil from Russia. The oil and gas are transported via two major pipelines. And we also have two oil refineries – in Polotsk and Mozyr’.
As for minerals we have enough deposits of potassium salts which we export to many countries of the world. And there are also deposits of peat and rock salts.
It can’t be said that our agriculture and livestock farming are well-developed. Our major crops are mostly grains (wheat, rye, and barley), flax, potatoes, and sugar beets. Our farmers raise cattle and hogs.
T he forestry industry is underdeveloped in Belarus. We have several sawmills where timber is processed into finished goods like furniture or plywood but the quality of those goods leaves much to be desired.
N ow I’d like to say a few words about the secondary sector – manufacturing industry. Well, this sector is rather developed in Belarus if compared to other sectors. The Republic is famous for its heavy-duty trucks, tractors and transport vehicles. We also produce computers, engineering equipment, metal-cutting tools, and such consumer goods as bicycles and motorcycles, clocks and watches, refrigerators, and television sets. The country's chief chemical product is potassium fertilizer. We also manufacture many wood products, including furniture, matches, plywood, and paper goods.
A nd lastly, the service sector. This sector is rather underdeveloped. There are many shops, supermarkets and department stores in Minsk and other regional cities but the prices there | are generally high and not many people can afford to buy expensive goods of high quality. There are not enough restaurants to satisfy the needs of all the clients and tourism is only making its first steps on the Belarusian market. Health care is free but there are more and more paid services in this field of economy. Education is becoming more paid than free and a large number of people have to pay to get a secondary special or higher education.
Finally, I’d like to say that although the situation with the economy in Belarus is not bad, still a lot should be done so that people could be richer and more prosperous. And this depends on the people themselves.
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