MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) - Domestic products cannot be more expensive than imported ones, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss the new price regulation system on 28 February, BelTA learned.
The president asked whether his instructions to create stabilization stocks to provide Belarusians with domestic fruits and vegetables during the off-season had been implemented. “You didn't do it and you'll answer for it,” he warned. “It turns out we don't have potatoes. How much has the price of potatoes gone up? How much the price increase was in the off-season? Can't we produce the right amount of potatoes, put them in the cellar and then sell them to people?”
The head of state tasked the State Control Committee to look into the matter and make suggestions. “These executives should be kicked out. We cannot produce enough potatoes! Prices for potatoes have jumped by 10% in two months,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president asked whether his instructions to create stabilization stocks to provide Belarusians with domestic fruits and vegetables during the off-season had been implemented. “You didn't do it and you'll answer for it,” he warned. “It turns out we don't have potatoes. How much has the price of potatoes gone up? How much the price increase was in the off-season? Can't we produce the right amount of potatoes, put them in the cellar and then sell them to people?”
The head of state tasked the State Control Committee to look into the matter and make suggestions. “These executives should be kicked out. We cannot produce enough potatoes! Prices for potatoes have jumped by 10% in two months,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Belarusian potatoes are not worse than imported varieties, the main thing is to ensure their proper storage, he noted. The president shared his personal experience: the potatoes grown on his farm are stored in a regular vegetable storage facility following the proper techniques, so they have not spoiled at all.
“You have set up a system where it is more profitable to import goods into the market than to sell our own. Isn't that chaos? What kind of regulation is this? It is corruption. Which importer did you want to favor? From Egypt, Russia, or Kazakhstan? Prove to me that they did not pay you under the table. I am not accusing you of taking bribes, but, excuse me, I have a suspicion,” the head of state said.
He recalled that vegetables should be stored in so-called stabilization stocks in the autumn so that they can be sold at regular prices during off-season.
Another issue to discuss was the construction of greenhouses to grow vegetables during off-seasons: “I am saying this because I have my own small greenhouse. I see how tomatoes and cucumbers grow. Cucumbers started growing a month ago. Tomatoes will ripen in a month or a month and a half. But those who do this professionally already have tomatoes ripened. Thus we can lower prices,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out. “I planted these vegetables in the greenhouse to see if it is possible. It turns out it is. So why are you not doing it? What is wrong with you? Have you gotten too comfortable?"
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