"Our people won't go hungry." Residents of the Gomel region on the food selection in stores.

Shortages , queues, and access to goods through connections—these realities of Soviet trade are long gone. Today, even in the smallest Belarusian village, people unanimously say about the selection in stores: "There's plenty of everything: you can eat as much as you want." And they also express endless gratitude—not only for the dazzling variety of shelves but also for the opportunity to live under a peaceful sky, in a tranquil country. How are retail services organized in the Dobrush and Vetka districts, and how satisfied are local residents? These were the topics discussed during a visit by Yuri Gorlov, Presidential Aide and Inspector for the Gomel Region, to these districts, BelTA reports. The first stop on the route was Larishchevo in the Dobrush district. The consumer union store is visible from the road. On a sultry morning, villagers discuss the latest local news
near the store's porch . "I'm from Medvezhy Log. The store in the village closed, and now a mobile shop comes to us twice a week. But I come here to Larishchevo for groceries. By bike. It's about two kilometers from here," we meet pensioner Galina Alekseyevna. When asked about the selection in the store, the woman replies: "They have everything in stock - bread, MILK , and
"Sour cream and MEAT. There's no need to go to the city.

" "No one will definitely die of hunger," Viktor Tsuprik joins the conversation.

"The main thing is that we get our pensions on time. And even more importantly, the sky above our heads is peaceful, and we are not afraid of war," the woman says, thanking both the President and the local authorities for their concern.
As the store clerk, Inna Koshkina, explains, the turnover here is very good, especially on summer weekends. "The highway runs nearby, summer residents come," she clarifies and shows the contents of the shelves. "Here are cereals, meat products . For bread, we work with Buda-Koshelevo. They should be delivered at 10:00," the clerk names the most popular items.

The Presidential Aide inquires about the situation with vegetables. "We don't sell them. Firstly, certain conditions are needed, and secondly, here in the countryside, almost everyone grows their own vegetables. "And if someone needs something, we'll order it and deliver it specifically for them," Inna Koshkina explains the delivery algorithm.

According to the salesperson, despite the store being located in a place where it's impossible to predict demand for a particular product (after all, people traveling from or to RUSSIA often stop by, and this flow is difficult to predict), shortages in product availability are extremely rare. "If something runs out, we call, and they bring it to us. There are no shortages," Inna Koshkina assures.
In Dobrush itself, we're studying the situation at one of the chain stores. On Thursday morning, there are up to ten people at the checkout. The grocery baskets contain sunflower oil , sausages , sweets, and dairy products.Ice cream .

In a conversation with manager Lara Kunai, Yuri Gorlov asks about cooperation with domestic meat and dairy processing plants. "The assortment of all the manufacturing plants has been increasing and expanding recently. Today, we have everything in sufficient quantity. I think we can satisfy any customer," the manager is convinced.

To confirm her words, she invites us to the display case where eggs are sold . "Look - we have eggs from MINSK, Soligorsk, and Gomel. In sufficient quantity. If you need quail eggs, please go ahead. Bread and baked goods - from Gomel, Minsk, the Dobrush bakery, as well as our own baked goods," the DIRECTOR continues the tour of the retail facility . "There are no shortages with meat and poultry, and beef - no problem either."

At the vegetable island, we meet a customer, Liliya Leonidovna, who is choosing carrots . "Personally, I'm satisfied with the selection. Everything's in stock when I come in. As for the prices—for example, I often buy tomatoes—they're sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive. It probably depends on the supplier," the woman reasons.
Yuri Gorlov points out that the carrots on the counter are from Russia. "The stabilization funds in the region need to be formed so that Belarusian carrots from the previous year's harvest are available in May, June, and July. And by August, the new harvest will be available. We have sufficient storage capacity for such products," the presidential aide emphasizes.  

Apples are also the only imported ones on the counter. "In the winter, there were eight types of Belarusian apples," the store manager explains.
 
"There should be a specific order for APPLE farmers and other produce, a contract with a clear breakdown by month. Apples should be available in stores until the new harvest. Any surplus can be sold elsewhere. But supplying the domestic market is the number one priority," Gorlov emphasizes. Customers at a store in another chain started talking

about the prices of Belarusian fruits and vegetables . "There's a ton of produce—meat and fish. You can eat as much as you want. But sometimes Belarusian fruits and vegetables, like apples, are more expensive than fruit imported from abroad. How is that possible?" asks Nina Kuznetsova.
Store manager Olga Gutseva explains that seasonality influences prices, among other factors, and all markups are within acceptable limits. Regarding other items, the manager notes, "As for milk, I think, and people say so, we have the widest selection of products. Chicken legs sell well. Poultry, however, is less popular. Beef isn't in high demand—five kilograms is enough for about a week and a half," explains Olga Gutseva.

She clarifies: the store also responds promptly to customer requests. "They asked for more diabetic bread, and we brought it," the store manager gives an example. The sellers at the special stalls near the store are also ready to meet
the demand for fresh vegetables, berries , herbs, and other agricultural products. Eva Ivanovna Shlyakhtitseva is among them. "I have my own farm. We grow produce—it's a shame to leave the garden. But we don't eat it all. You bring it, sell it, and people say 'thank you.'" They are in demand, too." Potatoes , cucumbers, zucchini, and greens," the pensioner lists.
Anna Vasilyevna bought fresh tomatoes and zucchini for the table. The pensioner used to keep a vegetable garden herself - 20 acres. Now her HEALTH does not allow it. "But in retail, there is everything - both in the store (and I have three of them nearby) and at the market. We receive a pension. Life is good now, calm. Everything is wonderful, what can I say. I am happy with everything, and so are my children and grandchildren. Thank you for that," notes a resident of the district center.

The word "shortage" has long disappeared from the everyday life of Vetka residents. At the entrance to one of the stores of the retail chain, we meet Olga Paprugina with a full cart of goods. "We have plenty of everything. "Come here and you'll find everything you need," the girl smiles.

She left for Moscow to work some time ago, but returned to her small homeland in May. "I haven't lived in Belarus for a year, and I haven't noticed any price increases. Overall, I like it better here than in Moscow. There's fresh air, and there's less traffic. And in terms of price range and food quality, it's very good here. We even bought meat, cheese , candy, and pasta to take back to the Russian capital. After all, anything made in Belarus is always high-quality. "Plus, in Moscow, one trip to the store for a standard set of groceries cost me about Br100, now I spend that amount per week," a resident of the district voices the calculations of her home accounting. A private unitary trading enterprise in Vetka operates with a strict focus on the customer. "We have stores, our own cafe, a bakery, a meat cutting workshop, a smokehouse, and soon we will also be producing pelmeni - the pelmeni machine is in the launch stage," describes the structure, investor and director of the organization Vladimir Goncharov. According to him, the recipe for the bread baked at the enterprise does not contain any additives or chemicals, which is why fresh loaves fly away instantly, and in addition, organizations like Dobrush, a private owner from Gomel, also come to pick them up. "But we don't reveal the recipe to anyone," the director maintains the intrigue.
Another rule of the enterprise is that they go themselves to buy products, primarily meat and eggs, in order to deliver fresh goods to the consumer as quickly as possible. "If a person comes in "Anyone who wants to buy a store should receive high-quality products. For example, we buy our own meat

: we take it straight from the knife and put it on the counter. Such products don't stay on the counter for more than a day," Vladimir Goncharov assures. Four-year-old Annushka can't leave the store without buying something—she picked out sweet candies for herself and her sister. "We have everything we need at Vetka. We rarely go to the shops in Gomel—only on the way," says her grandmother, Galina Vladimirovna, accompanying the little girl on her shopping trip.
Residents of the village of Khalch in the Vetkovsky District also had no complaints about the store's selection or pricing. For example, about a thousand people a day shop at a private store located near the highway. "The village is big, the road is nearby, and there are summer residents," explains salesperson Angela Fedorovna, explaining the high volume of customers. Direct cooperation with producers, without intermediaries, allows them to keep prices reasonable. "And we have a good selection. We deliver bread every day. There are no supply disruptions. We meet all the volumes we promise. The most popular items are milk, meat, and ice cream in the summer," the salesperson points out. She adds: the comments and suggestions book contains nothing but positive reviews.  

A consumer cooperative store is located a few hundred meters away. Its revenue is lower. "But we have everything they need. People say the selection is satisfactory—both meat and fish," explains salesperson Olga Kulakova.
Vegetables are also sold in the store, although many in the villages grow their own cucumbers, tomatoes , and apples. Yuri Gorlov drew attention to the display of such produce in the store, noting that it should be more aesthetically pleasing and attractive, as, for example, in a large retail chain with a presence in the regional center. The presidential aide also emphasized the need to expand the selection of beef in rural and regional centers. "It's a healthy product, a healthy diet," he emphasized.
This idea was fully supported by Victoria Selenya, a resident of the Vetkovsky district, who stopped by a hypermarket in Gomel on her way. "The prices may be a little higher here than in other stores, but everything is always fresh. I bought some beef neck – it's odorless, beautiful, and luxurious," Victoria suggested, offering a glimpse of the contents of her basket.

"I go to all kinds of stores—large supermarkets and small rural ones. And we have an abundance of them everywhere. Absolutely. No question about it. There are at least five or six types of dairy products. The price range is varied—whether you want it cheap or expensive. So, our people won't go hungry. That's for sure," the agro-town resident is convinced.

Photo by Sergei Kholodilin,
BELTA.