Costs and financial results in agriculture of Russia and Belarus: a comparative analysis based on open statistical data

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing importance of a comparable assessment of cost conditions and financial results in agriculture under price volatility, uneven output dynamics and differences in the openness of national statistical systems. For Russia and Belarus, this issue has practical significance for evaluating current agricultural efficiency and for improving accounting and analytical support for managerial decisions. The purpose of the study is to compare cost conditions and financial results in the agricultural sectors of Russia and Belarus on the basis of open statistical data and to identify differences in production structure, producer price dynamics, profitability parameters and statistical observability of financial outcomes. The methodological basis relies on official statistics of the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia and the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, as well as on comparative, index, structural and analytical methods. The study uses indicators of agricultural output, production indices, producer price indices, output structure, revenue, net profit, sales profitability, the share of profitable farms and territorial differentiation of production and finance. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the comparison is carried out not only through conventional indicators of output and profitability, but also through the degree of availability of open financial statistics and through the author’s indicators of price asymmetry and loss coverage by profit. The results show that in 2024 Russian agriculture operated under a decline in physical output combined with an increase in producer prices, while Belarusian agriculture recorded output growth. The analysis demonstrates that the Russian model is characterized by a more pronounced price asymmetry between crop and livestock production, whereas the Belarusian farm sector shows a higher share of profitable units and a more complete open statistical representation of revenue, profit and profitability. These findings make it possible to refine the interpretation of costs and financial results in the agrarian economies of Russia and Belarus through the interaction of production structure and statistical transparency.