English

Lukashenka orders government to keep inflation in check

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka directed on Friday that the government take "energetic measures" to keep inflation in check.

Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the Belarusian leader suggested that the government should restore strict price controls, according to the government's news agency BelTA.

Mr. Lukashenka said that the public had fears concerning the country's rising inflation rate. He warned Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich and Nadzeya Yermakova, head of the National Bank of Belarus, that decelerating inflation was an extremely important task for the state.

Mr. Lukashenka noted that the dollar equivalent of prices in Belarus had nearly reached its pre-devaluation level of early 2011. "What, is the task of your pricing policy to outpace the devaluation?" he wondered.

Mr. Lukashenka warned that rising inflation amid a stable rubel led to an increase in exporters' costs and made them less competitive. // BelaPAN