Belarus' industrial giants have problems with sales

Euroradio asked the management of Belarus' biggest companies whether their businesses have been hit by a global financial crisis.

Syarhey Zakharevich, a marketing chief with the Minsk-based truck factory MAZ, admitted problems with sales abroad, but said MAZ does not plan to cut production or suspend operation. MAZ is expected to overshoot this year's target by 15 percent. A manager with Potash fertilizer giant Belaruskali also noted problems with sales but stressed that the crisis has not yet hit Belarus' exporters.

"An economic crisis is a way off but there is a recession. The economic crisis will occur in the future. All exporters have had difficulties as a result of the recession. We also had them," the Belaruskali executive told Euroradio.

He added that the company will not cut wages or send workers on unpaid leaves if it suffers financial losses.

Vasil Andreyevich, deputy director of the Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ), said his company has not been affected and operates as usual.

However, an MTZ worker said that sales have decreased. "Tractors do not sell as briskly as before now. Russia has been buying fewer tractors because of the crisis. We had slow periods like this, but not in the last few years," the worker said.

Managers at the Naftan oil refinery said the company benefited from the oil price slump because it needs less money to buy crude.

Nadzeya Harkusha, deputy director general of the Belarusian Steel Works (BMZ), said that in the face of a global recession BMZ is working to squeeze costs. "We have an uninterrupted production process and the company's operation has been stable throughout the year. The management takes measures to cut costs. But we have always done so. We do not take other measures except for those necessary to forestall the effects of the global situation on the staff. We are still coping."

She admitted certain difficulties with sales, but said they will not reflect on wages or working hours.