Lukashenko: inflation rate in Belarus shouldn’t exceed 7-8 percent this year

The new pricing regulation system requires further improvement – as stated today by the President of Belarus at a meeting on pricing issues

Addressing the participants of the event, the Head of State underlined, “I invited you in such a broad composition to outline the next steps to contain prices and reach the goal I set for the current year: inflation of no more than 7-8 percent. This is almost two times lower than last year. What shortcomings in the work of those responsible for prices are visible at this stage?”

The President drew attention to the fact that retail prices are falling mainly due to the trade link, while the producer price index continues to grow, “We need to seriously deal with this. Thus, from September to December, this indicator in industry amounted to 100.7 percent, in agriculture - 103.6 percent.”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, trade organisations continue to violate pricing laws, “This happens against the background of inspections, as a result of which over a hundred trade outlets and officials were held accountable and five dozen criminal cases were initiated on the facts of unjustified price increases. One gets the impression that the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade has withdrawn from its direct work, especially in the regions. The same refers to both deputies and controllers. If someone wants to dump the solution of this task on this ministry, consider that you failed it. One ministry alone will not cope with this! This is a task for the entire Government: from the Minister to the PM.”

Moreover, governors should take an active part in this work.

“Without you, we will not solve this problem at all,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. “Because you supervise the whole sphere of trade.”