You're reading: Reuters: Belarus gains from Russia’s political disputes to grow big in fuel re-export

Reuters: Belarus gains from Russia’s political disputes to grow big in fuel re-export

Published July 10, 2018 at 1:56 pm

A picture taken on June 7, 2011 shows a Belarus policeman speaking with a driver who sticked a poster reading "I'm against higher fuel prices!" on the windscreen of his car during a rally in Minsk. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on June 8, 2011 ordered to lower the price of gasoline at the pump. Belarusians showed their anger over a fuel-price increase of more than 30 percent with a car blockade in central Minsk, the first public protest since the government sent people to prison for demonstrating after last year's elections.

Photo by AFP

Belarus, often seen as a buffer between Moscow and the rest of Europe, has capitalized on a general aversion from trading with the Kremlin to become the largest re-exporter of Russian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), trade data and official statistics show.

Belarus ranked only fourth, behind Poland, Ukraine and Finland, in LPG supplies from Russia by land until 2017. It became the leader this year in Russian LPG rail imports, which far exceed its domestic demand.