Meeting of the Regional Executive Committee. "To increase the efficiency of organizations in the Vitebsk region, it is necessary to utilize all reserves" - Nikolai Sherstnev
The First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Oleg Matskevich, prefacing the analysis of the socio-economic development of the region, noted that out of four key indicators, three have been fulfilled, in particular, for gross regional product, average monthly wages, and total revenues of the consolidated budget of the region. In addition, the Vitebsk region has coped with the tasks of exporting goods and services, excluding republican organizations and oil products, energy saving, and commissioning of residential buildings. However, the region is lagging behind in investments in fixed assets. They amount to 89.1% compared to the same period in 2020.
– Starting this year, the investment cycle must be launched, and its work must proceed at an accelerated pace. It is necessary to focus each region, each sector on boosting this cycle. So far, this is not working out. Out of 200 investment projects declared by district executive committees, only eight have been implemented, which is 4%. And this means modernization of production, new jobs, markets, budget revenues, – emphasized Oleg Matskevich.
Last year started with large investment projects, such as the reconstruction of Savushkin Orsha LLC, the modernization of Naftan, the construction of a sheet metal and tinplate plant, and others. This explains why the current year is lagging behind compared to the first months of 2020. Nevertheless, in ten districts (Verkhnedvinsk, Vitebsk, Glubokoe, Dubroven, Lepel, Liozno, Rossony, Senno, Sharkovshchina, and Shumilino), there is an increase in investments. The largest decline is observed in Beshenkovichi and Braslav districts.
The main projects announced for 2021 include the creation of a vertically integrated woodworking complex, a plant for processing low-grade timber, a digitized plant for the production of innovative veterinary drugs, new workshops and farms for the Vitebsk Broiler Factory, and others. The construction of the multimodal industrial and logistics center "Bremimo – Orsha" continues. Approximately 10 million rubles are planned to be allocated from the innovation fund of the regional executive committee to support projects. In accordance with the development plan for certain regions lagging in socio-economic development, 60 investment projects are planned for implementation in these territories in 2021-2025. New production facilities are to be established in the Liozno, Gorodok, Sharkovshchina, Senno, Shumilino, and Ushachi districts.
Over the past three months, the industrial production index was 105.1%. However, at the same time, inventories of finished products in warehouses have increased, particularly in "Meat and Dairy Products" organizations. The export volume of the concern's enterprises decreased by 4.3 million dollars compared to January-February 2020. Against this backdrop, OJSC "Polotsk Grain Processing Plant" stands out, exporting 7.2 times more products, "Gorodok Poultry Farm" – 3.1 times more, Orsha Poultry Farm – 2.7 times more, and "Orsha Dairy Plant" – 1.7 times more.
The share of exports of goods from residents of the FEZ "Vitebsk" has decreased. Overall, for the region, it increased by almost 9%. Vitebsk region conducted foreign trade operations with 88 countries.
In the agro-industrial complex, 26 organizations are unprofitable, which constitutes 12% of the total number. The total number of unprofitable organizations in all sectors of the economy is 187, or 23.3% of the total number. This is lower than the national indicator of 25.6%.
The pace of retail trade is not encouraging, especially within the consumer cooperative system. As the head of the region noted, the positive results of reforms in the industry are not yet visible. Optimization has been carried out, the management apparatus has been significantly reduced, but there is no return. People still complain about the meager assortment in the stores of consumer cooperatives. The development prospects of the region's consumer cooperation, which cannot withstand competition in either trade or production, are not visible.
As Oleg Matskevich noted, there is an increase in entrepreneurial activity at the beginning of the year. The number of small and medium-sized businesses has grown, as well as those operating without registering as individual entrepreneurs, on a declarative basis. In January-March, 86 new enterprises and 5 production facilities of various types of economic activity started operating in the region.
An analysis of the work for the first months of 2021 showed that it is necessary to make up for what was missed at the start of the year, to use all reserves (and they exist) to increase the efficiency of all organizations in the region. According to Nikolai Sherstnev, the vitality of the region and the well-being of the people depend on this.