Lukashenko: it’s moment of truth now
At today’s meeting on the development of Gomel Region’s agro-industrial complex, the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, directed local farmers to focus on export supplies and making money
“God has pitied us, and we have really produced excellent results in the field of agro–industrial complex this year,” the Head of State noted. “Earlier, we did not know what to do and where to sell. Meanwhile, the demand is high now, and good money is paid. So, sell, take the money and work in the Gomel Region. No one bothers you, and I will protect you so that no one bothers you. Meanwhile, do earn this money, since everything is available now. I recently spoke about this at a meeting with representatives of the agro-industrial complex. There have never been such conditions and there will never be. Take what is lying there, and there is even no need to bend down. Just come and take it, but you are hesitating for some reason. You think that it will continue to be so. The moment of truth is right now. Markets are open – not only in Russia. China is also ready to consume plenty of products.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko then commented on the work in the Russian market, “I am informed that intermediaries, trading houses, some dealers (including in industry) buy products from us for Br2, for example, and Russians later have to pay Br9. The difference makes Br7, but why is this happening? This is because our task today (I suppose this but I do not want to assert) is to push products out of factories or farms. This is not a solution, my dear. The market has not gone away, it is functioning. Therefore, it is necessary to take butter and cheeses, bring them to Russians or Chinese and try to sell directly. To do this, it is necessary to have our own stores and networks there, or to worthily join theirs.”
“You need to act in order to look decent and to have money. It is possible to earn money today, and we have plenty of work. You can see that we are paying much attention to agriculture, and land reclamation issues have been discussed recently. What does land reclamation mean for the Gomel Region? This is an acute point. Money is needed for it. You should not think that the Industry Ministry would produce there everything you want for free. This will not happen. Everything needs to be paid for, and today there is a chance,” the President summarised.
