MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the government to decide on a new system of price regulation by April, Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov told the media after a meeting with the head of state, BelTA learned.
According to him, since the topic of pricing is very subtle and complex, the polemic during the meeting was quite active and even emotional.
“Everything related to ensuring social standards of every person is the number one issue for the president. Therefore, the discussion was active. The government has proposed two options: the first is short-term and the second one is medium-term. The short-term one is based on the proposal of business, with which we worked to develop the approaches that would suit business,” Nikolai Snopkov noted.
It is this approach that the government has taken as a basis and submitted to the head of state for consideration. According to the first deputy prime minister, it is about adjusting the existing system of price regulation, working on the mistakes, leveling the existing distortions and imbalances based on the existing practices.
“The president has approved this approach, instructed to fine-tune it together with state bodies, regional executive committees and business and submit it by 1 April or still better - by 25 March. The work, in principle, is not difficult, it is understandable. We understand what needs to be adjusted,” Nikolai Snopkov said.
According to him, since the topic of pricing is very subtle and complex, the polemic during the meeting was quite active and even emotional.
“Everything related to ensuring social standards of every person is the number one issue for the president. Therefore, the discussion was active. The government has proposed two options: the first is short-term and the second one is medium-term. The short-term one is based on the proposal of business, with which we worked to develop the approaches that would suit business,” Nikolai Snopkov noted.
It is this approach that the government has taken as a basis and submitted to the head of state for consideration. According to the first deputy prime minister, it is about adjusting the existing system of price regulation, working on the mistakes, leveling the existing distortions and imbalances based on the existing practices.
“The president has approved this approach, instructed to fine-tune it together with state bodies, regional executive committees and business and submit it by 1 April or still better - by 25 March. The work, in principle, is not difficult, it is understandable. We understand what needs to be adjusted,” Nikolai Snopkov said.
The midterm plan envisages a national system of the circulation of goods, works and services. “Today several platforms are being implemented in the country. These are the platforms of goods traceability, goods labeling, electronic invoicing and also the cash register equipment control system. By integrating these systems and making them “user-friendly”, we will get a single trade document, which will be used by the analytical center to see all the movement of goods, works and services in the country. The main purpose of this work is to track the added value in the chain of goods movement,” the first deputy prime minister said.
Inna Medvedeva, Chairwoman of the National Statistical Committee, told the media after the meeting: “The decision has been taken to finalize the existing [price regulation] system. The task has been set to involve everyone in this work, including governors, who know the situation in the regions, ministers and heads of the concerns producing consumer goods. This should be a mechanism that will simplify the work and make it clear for the population in the first place how the price is formed. The head of state has set the task to make prices manageable.”
According to her, the new mechanism, which the president instructed to finalize by 25 March, must take into account the interests of all parties: producers, buyers, and the state. Therefore, the work on the document will be conducted jointly with the government, governors, and other officials.“We all will finalize the document and then submit it to the head of state," Inna Medvedeva stated.
As far as the inflation is concerned, she noted that the price freeze measure taken by the head of state in October 2022, the corresponding proposals and government resolutions had a very positive impact on curbing inflation. As a result, over the past two years, inflation in Belarus held steady at nearly 5%. In 2023, it edged up to 5.8%, and then slipped to 5.2% in 2024 (with the target of 6% or less).
Inna Medvedeva explained that when calculating inflation, about 500 items of goods and services are taken into account. Registrars work weekly to track information in stores and record prices. Approximately 70,000 product quotes are recorded per month.
“We will do our best to ensure that people clearly understand that their incomes will not be rapidly devalued. When they come to buy milk or sour cream in the store, they will clearly understand what to expect,” she emphasized. “The main point is stability in the country. It is very important when a consumer feels confident about prices.”
According to Belstat, the poverty level in Belarus is only 3.5%. This is the lowest reading in the history of observations. “This is thanks to the president’s order he made in 2022,” Inna Medvedeva pointed out.
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