The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has heard a report from the Chairman of the State Customs Committee, Vladimir Orlovsky, according to a BELTA correspondent.

"The customs service is, first and foremost, a budget issue. I am informed that over the course of this year, you have, despite certain complexities, even increased the level compared to last year by almost 3.5%. This is good growth," noted the head of state. "Nevertheless, I would like to hear about the problems in this regard."

The service of remote registration in the queue for crossing the border is in high demand, according to the State Customs Committee.

"Coarse attacks in economic terms from the European Union countries and the West as a whole have not disappeared. There is a reorientation of trade flows to the East. Is it successful or not - what are the problems in this regard?" clarified the Belarusian leader.

As the President is informed by the Prime Minister and the government, Belarus has largely managed to reorient its trade flows to the East. The head of state noted that one of the evidence of this is the negotiations with the Americans, which Belarus is conducting. Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko announced the supply of Belarusian potash fertilizers to the USA. At the same time, the Belarusian side cannot supply large volumes to the Americans, since the produced products are already contracted for this year.

"We cannot even if we wanted to supply (potash - note by BELTA) to other, Western markets, simply because there are no such volumes - everything is already contracted," recalled the Belarusian leader.

As the President is informed by the Prime Minister and the government, Belarus has largely managed to reorient its trade flows to the East. The head of state noted that one of the evidence of this is the negotiations with the Americans, which Belarus is conducting. Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko announced the supply of Belarusian potash fertilizers to the USA. At the same time, the Belarusian side cannot supply large volumes to the Americans, since the produced products are already contracted for this year.

He also clarified the situation with supplies of goods from unfriendly countries that have imposed sanctions against Belarus.

The head of state raised another issue related to the reorientation of goods flows. The discussion concerns Russia's introduction of a system for confirming goods expectations (SPOT). “How do the measures that the Russian Federation is taking to protect its market—the so‑called SPOT—affect us? In general terms, of course, I keep an eye on the situation and am informed that you have managed to establish good, amicable relations with Russia regarding the implementation of these measures, and our carriers are not experiencing any serious problems. That’s good,” emphasized Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus and Russia are developing joint documents to simplify the SPOT procedure — GTC

“Customs infrastructure—how does it work on the eastern and western routes? Perhaps what needs to be done to make the work more efficient?” asked Belarusian leader Vladimir Orlovsky. The head of the State Customs Committee briefed the President on how goods flows are forming at the border under the current circumstances. “Currently, 85 % of all Belarusian export and import for Belarusian enterprises is directed eastward. Primarily China and other Asian countries. Of course, also the Russian Federation,” he noted.

Speaking about the inflows of payments into the state budget, Vladimir Orlovsky pointed out that growth of almost 3.5 % has been recorded over eight months. This month, the growth rate is still at 5.2 %.