A complete closure of the border with Belarus would result in decreasing export revenues by EUR 1.6 billion, the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), an advisory body to the government, has estimated. PIE indicated that if a complete shutdown of road and rail cargo transport between Poland and Belarus takes place, Polish exporters of rolling stock and apples will be hit the hardest.
"Belarus also plays an important role in providing Poland with plywood, fertilizers and cement," PIE experts added. Moreover, according to PIE, Polish trade with other countries such as China, Russia or Kazakhstan might be affected, as the transit routes run through Belarus.