Belarus Import Trade Data: $41.81B in 2021, Up 27.6%

Belarus' Top Import Sources in 2021

Belarus imported $41.81 billion worth of goods in 2021, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks an increase of 27.6% over the $32.77 billion recorded in 2020. As with Belarus' export data, the available import figures cover only three years, 2019 through 2021, rather than a full five-year window, so the analysis below reflects that shorter, most recent period. A grouping the dataset records as Areas, nes, covering sources that are not broken out individually, was the largest recorded source of Belarus' imports, absorbing 37.0% of the total, worth $15.47 billion.

Russia ranked second at 28.6% ($11.95 billion), and together with the unspecified grouping accounted for close to two-thirds of total import value. China followed at a distant 8.1% ($3.40 billion), ahead of Germany at 3.6% ($1.50 billion) and Ukraine at 3.4% ($1.44 billion). Poland supplied 2.5% ($1.06 billion), Italy added 1.7% ($722.89 million), and Turkey contributed 1.6% ($683.92 million). The United States added 1.0% ($401.46 million), and France rounded out the top ten at 0.8% ($316.23 million). Together, the top three sources made up 73.7% of total import value.

Russia's position as the second-largest recorded source, worth close to $12 billion, understates the true scale of Belarus' dependence on Russian goods, since a substantial share of Belarus' energy imports appears to fall within the unspecified commodities category described further below rather than being itemized under Russia by name. Belarus has long relied on Russia for the overwhelming majority of its oil and natural gas consumption, importing gas at heavily subsidized prices and refining Russian crude for both domestic use and re-export. That energy relationship, layered on top of Russia's already substantial recorded share, likely means the true combined weight of Russian-linked trade in Belarus' import total is considerably higher than the 28.6% figure captured under Russia's name alone.

Beyond Russia and the unspecified grouping, China's 8.1% share stands out as the largest named source outside Belarus' immediate region, reflecting growing trade ties that would become more prominent as sanctions reshaped Belarus' available partners in the years that followed. Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, and Türkiye round out a European and neighboring-region supplier base, while the USA and France represent smaller, longer-distance relationships. None of these eight secondary partners individually exceeds 4% of the total, a sharp contrast to the roughly two-thirds concentrated in just the unspecified grouping and Russia combined.

Leading Import Categories

Commodities not specified according to kind dominated Belarus' import categories in 2021, worth $14.82 billion and accounting for 35.4% of total import value. Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery, and mechanical appliances followed at 8.2%, worth $3.41 billion, and electrical machinery and equipment ranked third at 7.0% ($2.94 billion).

Iron and steel added 5.6% ($2.33 billion), while vehicles contributed 4.3% ($1.81 billion). Plastics brought in 3.8% ($1.59 billion), and iron or steel articles added 2.5% ($1.05 billion). Pharmaceutical products contributed 2.3% ($980.00 million), optical and medical instruments added 1.7% ($690.63 million), and paper and paperboard closed out the top ten at 1.5% ($611.86 million).

The scale of the unspecified commodity category, more than four times the size of the next-largest named category, is a strong signal that a major commodity is being reported without full product detail, and energy is the leading candidate. Belarus imports the overwhelming majority of the oil it consumes from Russia, importing roughly nine-tenths of its oil supply according to industry analysis, alongside effectively all of its natural gas. A trade relationship of that scale would be expected to show up prominently in a mineral fuels category, yet no such category appears among the ten largest import categories in this dataset, suggesting that flow is folded into the unspecified commodities total instead.

Setting the unspecified category aside, the named categories, machinery, electrical equipment, iron and steel, vehicles, plastics, and pharmaceuticals, reflect the industrial inputs and finished goods needed to support Belarus' manufacturing base, much of it inherited from the Soviet industrial system. Vehicles and machinery in particular point to ongoing investment in transportation and production equipment, while iron and steel in both raw and finished forms suggests substantial construction and heavy industry activity. None of these named categories individually exceeds 9% of the total, a far more even spread than the concentration seen in the unspecified category alone.

Limited Data Availability Reflects a Shifting Trade Landscape

The available data shows imports climbing before a dip and a sharp rebound across the three years covered. Imports moved from $39.48 billion in 2019 to $32.77 billion in 2020, before climbing 27.6% to $41.81 billion in 2021. Unlike most other countries in this dataset, no verified trade data is available for Belarus beyond 2021, so this three-year window represents the most complete and recent picture currently available rather than a full five-year trend.

This pattern is consistent with reporting from the German Economic Team, which documented that Belarus' domestic oil production covered only about a tenth of its consumption in this period, with roughly nine-tenths imported from Russia, underscoring the scale of the Russian energy relationship that likely sits behind the large unspecified categories described above. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down within the years covered, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.