May 8, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka on May 8 made it clear that potato shortages may persist in Belarus for a month until new harvest.
Speaking at the opening ceremony for an International Exhibition Center in Minsk, he said that farmers are selling their potatoes in Russia because of considerably higher prices there. He added that farmers need cash to buy fertilizers and plant potatoes as soon as possible.
The Belarusian ruler also warned farms against selling seed potatoes to consumers, although social media posts from Belarus suggest that seed potatoes have been on sale for quite a while.
“You remember, during Great Patriotic War years, people were starving in Leningrad, but saved their seeds so that they can have bread in the future,” he said.
He said he had instructed the State Control Committee to investigate food shortages at groceries.
He also defended farmers selling food in Russia. “Of course, peasants need cash. If they don’t sell potatoes [abroad] and don’t get hard currency, we will have to support them from the [state] budget. We don’t want this. Our teachers, doctors and pensioners are not that rich [to afford potatoes at higher prices].”
In December, the government introduced potato export licenses for three months and in March extended the measure by another three months.
Last year, Belarus’ potato harvest was 22.5-percent lower than in 2023.
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