Agriculture and Forestry

Agriculture is an important sector of the Belarusian economy that is responsible for the country’s food security and export potential.

The contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP in 2023 amounted to 6.5%. As of 1 January 2024, the sector comprised almost 1,500 agricultural enterprises and 3,400 farms. More than 246,000 people are employed in agriculture.

Per capita agricultural output in Belarus is on the level with the developed countries and in many aspects surpasses results of the CIS countries. The Belarusian food sector not only fully satisfies the domestic demand for food products, but also is one of the country’s main sources of revenue in foreign currency.

Belarus’ main trading partner is the Russian Federation. Belarus constantly seeks to diversify export and currently exports products to 103 countries including all the CIS member states, the countries of the European Union, Asia, South America, and North America, the Middle East, Africa. In 2023, Belarus got access to new markets: Bahrain, Somalia, Mexico, Senegal, Cabo Verde.

Belarus is among the world’s five leading flax linen manufacturers. In 2023, the country produced 37,200 tonnes of it.

It is among the top ten European countries in terms of some key indicators (forest cover, forest area, and per capita stock of growing wood). Belarus has around one hectare of forest per every resident of the country. The total forest area in Belarus tops 9.7 million hectares.

In 2023, over 29,000 hectares of new forests were planted in the territory under supervision of the Forestry Ministry.

Planting material is grown in 79 forest nurseries and four specialized greenhouses that use a modern method to grow planting material with a root ball.

Coniferous woods constitute 57.7% of the total area under forests in Belarus. Deciduous forests account for 43.3%.

The share of mature forests has soared in Belarus in the past decades. It is explained by natural processes and the policy of the Forestry Ministry to rationalize forest husbandry. Since 1994, the share of mature forests rose by 4.7% to 19.6% in 2022. There has been a boost in timber production as a result. In 2016, Belarusian forestry organizations produced about 20 million cubic meters of timber; in 2023 this output almost reached 21 million cubic meters. Almost a half of this volume was produced by mechanical felling. All this timber is used by Belarusian wood processing organizations.

As of today, about 97,000 people are employed in the forestry industry. 36,300 people were employed in the system of the Forestry Ministry in 2023. Because of their hard work the total area under forests made up a record high of 40.2% in Belarus.