Prices were given a fight, but is everything in order. Lukashenka updated the tasks before the authorities

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February 10, MINSK. President of Belarus ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO has convened a wide meeting on pricing issues in order to control how the previous instructions in this area are being carried out and outline the next steps, BelTA has learned.

"The topic of our conversation is complex. And in view of this complexity and other reasons, it is extremely unpleasant. I know very well from my experience, like many sitting here, present at this meeting, what wages and prices are. For our people, for all of us, this is an important question, because every day, from morning to evening, we, faced with these problems, of course, live by this," the President said. "But nevertheless, the decision was made. We agreed that after some time we would get together and see how the government and everyone "The country's leadership is fulfilling the instructions of the President. Someone had to establish a system for controlling pricing, as well as controlling inflation within the country. Someone had to strictly control the solution of this issue. Therefore, everyone is involved in solving this problem."

Alyaksandr Lukashenka drew attention to the facts and gave specific examples, so that "the minds of 'advanced' economists would not wander all sorts of very convenient crazy thoughts."

"We are all used to the idea that "democracy and the free market will save the world." Where did this come from after a long period of declarative prices in the Soviet Union and regulation of everyone and everything. Where did this come from? A rhetorical question. The Americans, the West, have always pushed us to this: democracy, democracy, human rights! Read: "What I want, I turn in the country, what I want, I say." And then 2020, remember... That's all democracy," the HEAD of state said.

In this regard, the President drew another parallel: “The United States of America reproached us for having conducted the elections incorrectly. There, too, the results of the elections were the cause of unrest and clashes. or four wars passed, protecting the interests of the United States . Nobody reckoned with anything. No rights, no democracy. At the same time, I do not condemn those defenders of the highest authority, the building that was attacked. I do not condemn, this is their problem. But Why were we condemned then?

Another example, even more important for marketers, is the sanctions that the West imposed on the Russian Federation, and at the same time on Belarus, so that the Russians could not get around these sanctions through it. "Why was a certain price ceiling set for the main product of the Russian Federation? And not only for this one. I mean oil , and then oil products. Why did the West and the usa begin to regulate prices for oil and oil products? Market economy in the world," - questioned by the head of state.

On the need to live with one's own mind and in the interests of the country

“I remind you of this and tell you so that you understand that we must live by our own mind in our country and do everything in a way that is beneficial to our people. in trade and so on, they began to line their pockets when the wages of (ordinary workers. - Note by BelTA) of the company are $500, while they have 46 or 60 times more. Is that normal?" - the Belarusian leader noted.

"I want you to understand that my demand remains unchanged. With these two examples, and there are a lot of them, I proved to you that they have no democracy, no human rights, no free market and free pricing. They operate exclusively in our own interests. Well, let us, as far as possible, observe our interests - our people. In a welfare state where everything is for the people," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized.

On the problem of price regulation

Alexander Lukashenko recalled that the tough task of developing measures to regulate prices in difficult economic conditions was set before the government four months ago. “This is the hardest job after many years of market licentiousness. I understand that curbing prices when millions of people (both in Belarus and abroad are interested in their unbridledness) is very difficult. But we have the authorities enough. We just have to use the advantages of our power. In part, this probably happened. Therefore, it would be impossible to solve this problem without serious work with the entire production and trade chain," the head of state said.

To curb inflation, Directive No. 10 was first signed, and from mid-October, Council of Ministers Resolution No. 713 "On the price regulation system" came into force.

Alexander Lukashenko stated that in a number of cases prices even went down, although this was not the goal. But after their February surge last year, this is normal, and the profitability of organizations still remained at a high level. “Some write to me here: “Price reduction”. We did not set ourselves such a task. It was about price regulation. Although, out of fear, some, seeing a large layer of fat, lowered these prices. It’s okay,” he said.

On the results of work and current tasks

"The system of regulation (to put it bluntly - price containment) was developed by the whole world: the parliament, the government, the State Control Committee, trade unions, local authorities, supervisory, law enforcement agencies. I have the monitoring results in front of me. According to statistics, we managed to significantly slow down inflationary processes in the country In Q4, after decisive actions, deflation of almost 2% was recorded in 2022. That is, there was a rollback in prices,” Alexander Lukashenko stated.

"When we met last time, the government predicted annual inflation of about 20%. This would be a terrible inflation. But taking into account the measures taken, it was possible to reduce it to at least 12-13% according to the results (2022. - Approx. BelTA)", - said the Belarusian leader.

There are goods that have fallen in price, the President noted. And their list is significant. This includes buckwheat, rice, pasta, vegetable oil, tea, natural coffee, perfumes and cosmetics, televisions and so on.

“Nevertheless, against the background of the fight against price increases from 1% to 4%, everyday goods became more expensive. These are MILK , kefir, cottage cheese, other dairy products, butter, MEAT, eggs, and even baby food. All this suggests that the new regulatory system requires further improvement and, as the government says, fine-tuning," the head of state noted.

The President said that he had gathered a wide range of participants in the meeting in order to outline the next steps to contain prices and achieve the goal - inflation of no more than 7-8% for the current year. "This is almost two times lower than last year," he said.

Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to some shortcomings in the work of those responsible for prices, which can be seen at this stage.

On remaining problematic issues

First , retail prices are falling mainly due to the trade link, while the producer price index continues to grow. "We need to seriously look into this. Thus, this indicator from September to December last year in industry amounted to 100.7%, in agriculture - 103.6%. That is, agricultural products rose in price by almost 4% in the fourth quarter, industrial goods - by 1%," the Belarusian leader noted.

Secondly , trade organizations still allow violations of legislation in the field of pricing. "And this is against the background of inspections, as a result of which more than 100 trade entities and officials were held accountable and five dozen criminal cases were initiated on the facts of unjustified price increases. It seems that the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade has abstained from its direct work, especially in the regions "I must name deputies and controllers separated by commas. One ministry cannot cope with this. This is the task of the entire government. It was not in vain that I invited the governors both then and now. Without you, we will not solve this problem at all. Because the trade sector is all you," the head of state stressed.

Thirdly , retail trade turnover is declining (according to the results of 2022, it amounted to 96.3% compared to 2021). “We managed to prevent empty shelves and restore the diversity of the assortment due to the arrival of new suppliers on the Belarusian market, mainly from RUSSIA and Turkey, which are friendly to us. But this is not a reason to calm down. The prices for imported goods should be affordable for our citizens, especially if something we do not produce ourselves," the Belarusian leader stressed. "Imports must also be under the most severe control, because it will bring down your entire domestic market."

The President also asked how his instruction to restore order to the heads and owners of large retail chains is being carried out. Addressing the media representatives, the head of state said: “Please, shake the State Control Committee and the government so that they tell you all the facts, where “great” figures, leaders receive a salary 30-40 times higher than an ordinary seller and others. And then they run around the nets and shout: "Ah, the President crushed!" They start a riot. They want to raise these poor fellows and make some kind of storm again. But I have experience how to deal with this storm. And there will be cruel showdowns. Therefore, it’s up to people - sellers - you need to bring: here is 800 or 1 thousand rubles your salary, here are 50-60 thousand salaries from these so-called owners.

Fourthly , there are still questions about the interpretation and practice of applying certain norms of Decree No. 713.

Another problem is that unequal conditions have arisen for domestic producers and importers, which contributes to the sale of predominantly foreign products. "Importers have the opportunity to set a favorable price for themselves outside the country and make big profits. Let's hear how fair this is and whether the government sees it," Alexander Lukashenko said. "I understand very well that any system of regulatory measures is a living organism, which changes taking into account internal and external factors. That is, not everything depends on us in the country. But I do not set such a task that we regulate the whole world. My task, including yours, is to control the processes that take place in borders of our Belarus. Sometimes positive changes can be accelerated, as they say, manually. That's what we're going to do today."

Starting the meeting, the President emphasized that he was open to constructive proposals and was ready to make decisions that people needed. "The problem must be solved. And people should not look askance at the power they have formed. You know, my main demand is to provide a wide range of goods at fair prices and avoid shortages. This requirement applies to everyone," he said.