BELARUS’ President Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) recently sought to assuage concerns about potato shortages in shops, saying this was a result of supply being retained rather than an actual shortage.
The Belarusian state-affiliated news outlet, Sputnik, recently reported that the State Control Committee had been instructed to investigate shortages in certain retail chains.
The committee found that the disruption was artificially created, the President has since announced.
“When the State Control Committee checked some individuals, it turned out the issue was political. There were plenty of potatoes but somewhere, someone held them back to show that because the president intervened in pricing, this was the result.”
He added that once enforcement actions were taken, supply returned to normal. “The official came in with handcuffs, put them on the table, and the potatoes appeared,” he stated.
New-season potatoes have already started appearing on store shelves and the President has also indicated that Belarus could increase its potato planting areas to ensure a stable supply both domestically and for export to Russia.
Source: Sputnik
