9 July, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The average salary in the Vitebsk region may exceed the $500 mark by the end of the year. This was announced today at a joint meeting of the presidium of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets, BELTA correspondent reports. "The average salary for May of the current year was $400, and in June it will be higher. Indicators are being revised so that by the end of the year the average salary for the region reaches $580," the governor said. The basis for the optimistic forecast is the stable performance of enterprises in the production sector. Thus, the growth rate of gross regional product for the first half of the year was 122% compared to the same period last year. As emphasized by Alexander Kosinets, high growth rates were achieved not only due to the increase in oil refining volumes. The growth rate of services rendered was 123%. Enterprise inventories are minimal and amount to one-third of the monthly norm. "This indicates that the products of Vitebsk enterprises are liquid, competitive, and in demand both in the domestic and foreign markets," emphasized the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee. The export of enterprises of communal ownership and without departmental subordination increased fivefold in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. The foreign trade balance, excluding oil and oil products, was positive at $1 billion, which is 3.5 times higher than the established annual target. It is expected that the budget surplus will be at the level of Br1 trillion.-0-

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