Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko weighs in on problems in Belarusian manufacturing sector

MINSK, 9 April (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko highlighted the problems in the manufacturing sector as he spoke at a large meeting to discuss the country’s manufacturing outlook at the Palace of Independence on 9 April, BelTA has learned.

"We are giving the domestic market away to competitors. This is an extremely negative trend. The government will answer for this. Despite the availability of a wide range of domestic engineering goods, we still purchase imported analogues. These are not isolated cases," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Last year, the country purchased more than a thousand tractors. Almost $40 million was spent on this.

"We are modernizing the bearing plant. The quality of its products is comparable to the world leaders. However, high production costs do not allow the plant to win tenders even of Belarusian machine-building enterprises. Is it just about a tender? We forget a simple truth: a miser pays twice. You can save pennies on the cost of a bearing and lose thousands from equipment downtime due to its replacement," the president said.

The head of state asked what measures are being taken to protect the domestic market. What exactly has been done and is being done.

"Problems with sales are the result of all the afore-mentioned negative trends. Warehouses are overstocked with finished products. Inventories for 2023 increased by almost a quarter (by Br350 million, or 23%). The deputy prime minister ‘lulls me’ by saying that this is normal. It has always been like this -  yesterday and the day before yesterday. Everything  will sell. But we are evaluating the inventories from period to period. How much equipment do dealers have? For many manufacturers the dealerships have become an additional warehouse abroad? No one will be able to hide behind them going forward," Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.

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