Lukashenko: it’s necessary to create our own capacities and production facilities wherever possible, not only in Russia
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has held a meeting with the Council of Ministers leadership. One of the topics raised by the Head of State was industrial stocks. As PM Roman Golovchenko reported, there are certain problems with some commodity items through the Industry Ministry (tractors, refrigerators and freezers) and the Belneftekhim Concern (tyres).
According to Roman Golovchenko, as far as stocks of tractors are concerned, they are not critical for MTZ. Moreover, according to Deputy PM Piotr Parkhomchik, 1,500 units of equipment will be delivered to Zimbabwe in the near future.
The problem with refrigerators and freezers is more serious, and the government outlines several factors, “Firstly, this is a general decline in sales of refrigeration and freezing equipment in our key market: Russia. According to profile associations, this is due to the fact that Russians invest less in durable goods. The second reason is the massive arrival of new manufacturers of refrigeration equipment on the Russian market, primarily the Chinese, who built a huge plant. Those who left the Russian market are also gradually returning.”
In this regard, Roman Golovchenko underlines that it’s necessary to move along two vectors in the development of our industry, “Not only to build up capacities in Belarus, but also to set up production capacities in the Russian Federation. We missed a moment, because the capacities that the unfriendly countries left are being now replaced by Russian and Chinese manufacturers...”
An analysis of the remaining abandoned capacities in Russia is currently being carried out. The Prime Minister said, “Now we need to choose and actively enter these areas in order to organise production at Russian sites, forming a profit centre there and supplying kits and equipment from Belarus. This is a task that needs to be solved in the very near future.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted in this regard, “This is a strategy, we have already discussed it, there is nothing new in it. We need to establish our own capacities and production facilities wherever possible (if it’s beneficial for us), and not only in Russia, and work.”
Meanwhile, one more problem with warehouse stocks is observed at the Belshina enterprise. This refers primarily to large-sized and extra-large-sized tyres, the supply chain for these positions has not yet been established.
