Distributing a product

Market shares

No supermarket

Organizations in the retail sector

We can identify professional tradeshows on your sector.

Market access procedures

International Conventions

Member of World Trade Organisation
Party to the Kyoto protocol
Party to the Washington convention on International trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora
Party to the Basel convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal
Party to the Montreal protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer

Main International economic cooperation

Belarus is member of:
- Eurasian Economic Community
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 
Belarus also signed in 2009 a Free Trade Agreement with Serbia.

Non tariff barriers

Because of the dictatorial character of the government, the access to the market is very difficult and the administration is one of the most important barriers

Customs duties and taxes on imports

Between 0 and 10% ad valorem. 100% on alcohol.
Goods originating from countries, to where the Republic of Belarus does not apply the most favoured nation treatment in trade and political relations, or goods with unidentified country of origin, imported to the customs area of the Republic of Belarus, are assessed with the import customs duties under the “base” rates multiplied by 2.
Belarus provides tariff preferences to developing and least developed countries in form of reduction of the customs duties rates by 25 and 100 percent accordingly concerning the final inventory established by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

Customs classification

Tariff regulation issues are specified by the Law of Republic of Belarus “Customs Tariff” of February 3^rd, 1993.

According to Article 2 of the Law, the Custom duties of the Republic of Belarus correspond to a code of rates of the customs duties (custom duties) applied to goods moved through the customs border of the Republic of Belarus, which are the condition of such moving. It is also fixed that Belarus’ custom duties are integrated according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Trade Activities of the Republic of Belarus, which is generated proceeding from the systems of classification of goods accepted in the international practice.
For further information, please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

Import procedures

Customs procedures in Belarus coincide with principles of International Convention on customs simplification and harmonization. To consult the list of required documents please visit the websiteof the Belarus embassy in the US.

Importing samples

Samples are subject to the same procedures. For more information go to the Belorussian customs duty website.

For further information

Customs office of Belarus

We can indicate you which are the customs duties applied to your product.

Find out the local taxes that apply to your product.

Organizing goods transport

Main useful means of transport

Roads and airports are bad maintained in Belarus. Train is the best mean of transport for goods.

Ports

Bobryisk
Gomel
Mikashevichi
Mogilev
Mozyr

Airports

Minsk Airport

Sea transport organizations

Ministry of transport and communications of the Republic of Belarus

Air transport organizations

Ministry of transport and communications of the Republic of Belarus

Road transport organizations

Ministry of transport and communications of the Republic of Belarus

Rail transport organizations

Ministry of transport and communications of the Republic of Belarus

Get a ballpark figure for transportation costs for your product in this country through a shipping estimate.

Identifying a supplier

Type of production

The main industrial sectors are: arms industry, car industry, agricultural machinery and chemical industry

Business directories

Yellow Pages

Manufacturers associations of the main industries

Minsk Automobile Plant : automotive manufacturers association
Belarusian Association of pharmaceutical manufacturers

Trade Agencies and their representations abroad

Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Enterprises federation

Minsk capital association of entrepreneurs and employers

Standards

National standards organizations

Ministry of Trade information

Integration in the international standards network

member of the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC).

Classification of standards

Belarusian certification principles are defined by the Law n°269-3 of January 5, 2004. Fore more information, go to the Export Council website.

Online consultation of standards

Go to the Gosstandart site.

Certification organizations

Gosstandart

Find out the standards and labelling requirements that apply to your products.

Intellectual Property

National organizations

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus accepted to become a member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). Belarus is also a member of the Paris Convention, Madrid Arrangement, and also PCT (Patent Co-operation treaty). But there are still forgeries and piracy, and copies of CDs and video tapes are found in theountry in spite of the existence of laws. The US-Byelorussian agreement contains a certain clause pertaining to the protection of intellectual property.
At the beginning of the year 1996, the European Patent Convention came into force. The members of this convention dealing with patents are as follows : Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldavia, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This convention covers inventions and industrial drawings and designs. Inventions are covered for a period of 20 years after registration and industrial drawings and designs for a period of 10 years.

Regional organizations

Eurasian Patent Convention

International membership

Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)