On November 24, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Economic development largely depends on the growth of production volumes of competitive products in the markets. This point of view, answering a question from a BELTA correspondent, was expressed today to journalists by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets. "Without volumes and liquid products, there will be no added value that would allow the budget to be formed, to live with dignity and develop the economy," the governor emphasized. The Vitebsk region is currently leading in terms of gross regional product growth rates in the country. For January-October, the government's target was overfulfilled: the growth rate was over 110%. According to Alexander Kosinets, these indicators could have been higher, but in September-October, planned repair work was carried out at Naftan OJSC, which did not allow the enterprise to operate at full capacity. This work has now been completed. The Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee sees significant reserves for increasing the gross regional product in the agro-industrial complex, construction, trade, and the service sector, which will allow the region to reach a growth rate of 112-113% by the end of the current year. Targeted work is being carried out in the region to reduce inventory. Currently, they are 27-31%, which is the minimum indicator in the country. Labor productivity outpaces wages by 7-8%. However, Alexander Kosinets is confident that labor productivity should be even higher. The projected indicators for product exports in January-October were overfulfilled by the region, largely thanks to the work of enterprises of communal ownership. With the government's target set at $290 million, exports have already reached $1.5 billion. "This is a serious contribution to replenishing the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves," stated Alexander Kosinets. At the same time, with Russia's accession to the WTO, the situation in this market will become more acute. Therefore, local authorities consider their main task to be supporting manufacturers producing innovative products in demand on the foreign market. -0-

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