Trade between Russia and Belarus throughout 2025 shows steady growth. According to official statistics, in the first ten months of the current year, the volume of mutual trade between the countries increased by 1.8%, reaching $44 billion.
This is reported by Finway
Belarus’s Dependence on the Russian Market is Growing
Economic cooperation between the two countries is expanding against the backdrop of a decline in Belarusian exports. The share of Russia in the structure of Belarusian exports has increased: at the beginning of the year it was 65%, but by summer it reached 67%. This indicates the growing dependence of Minsk on the Russian market, which is becoming increasingly noticeable.
At the same time, the Belarusian authorities are avoiding the publication of precise data regarding exports to Russia. This may be due to the fact that the main increase in trade turnover is driven by the import of Russian goods into Belarus.
Russian Suppliers are Displacing Belarusian Competitors
Russian goods are gradually taking leading positions in traditional Belarusian market segments. Thus, in the first five months of 2025, imports of Russian products increased by 21%, and in eight months – by 27%. Particularly dynamic growth is observed in pork supplies, which nearly doubled, while imports of sunflower oil increased by 2.5 times.
As intelligence reports, record volumes of shipments through Russian ports do not indicate improvements in logistics, but merely demonstrate the limited capabilities of Belarus to utilize alternative routes.
The growth of Belarus’s economic dependence on Russia has a systemic nature. According to analysts’ estimates, between 2021 and 2025, Belarus’s GDP grew by only 8%, whereas earlier a growth of around 20% was expected.