According to the head of the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, a decision to revise the parameters of the country’s main financial document could be made by the end of the first half of 2016

Flags of Belarus (Photo: AP)

The budget parameters of Belarus are planned to be revised towards reduction by the end of June 2016, the country's Finance Minister Vladimir Amarin told reporters.

“We will review the budget,” the minister said, emphasizing that a decision could be made “closer to the end of the first half of the year” (quoted by RIA Novosti ). “Of course, there will be some reduction in spending,” Reuters quoted the minister as saying .

The Republican budget of Belarus for 2016 was adopted in December 2015 with a surplus of approximately 17.2 trillion Belarusian rubles (about $850 million) or almost 2% of the country's GDP. Total treasury revenues (180.59 trillion Belarusian rubles) were calculated based on the cost of a barrel of oil at $50 and the value of the dollar at 18.6 thousand Belarusian rubles. However, oil now costs less than $40 per barrel, and the dollar exchange rate has already risen above 20.2 thousand Belarusian rubles.

Ahead of the adoption of the 2016 budget, Amarin acknowledged the possibility of revising its parameters and optimizing expenses if it became clear that the price of oil was “leaning towards” $40 per barrel. In mid-February 2016, Deputy Minister of Finance Yuri Seliverstov admitted that changes in the parameters of the republican budget could not be avoided, explaining that budget adjustment “is not an easy process,” and therefore it will not happen in the first quarter.

“We are gradually approaching it. I think we will make proposals in the second quarter,” the deputy minister noted (quote from BELTA).

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance of Belarus reported that according to the results of January-February 2016, the country’s budget was executed with a surplus of 4.3% of GDP. For two months, republican budget revenues amounted to 25.4 trillion rubles, or 14.1% of the annual plan.

At the end of 2015, the budget of Belarus was executed with a surplus of 15.9 trillion Belarusian rubles, or 1.7% of GDP, which was aimed at reducing public debt. At a meeting of the Ministry of Finance held in February 2016 , it was noted that 2016 would be “difficult” for the country’s budgetary and financial systems, and therefore “great efforts are needed to attract additional revenues to the budget, primarily through optimization and reduction of benefits.”

Belarus announced budget cuts for 2016