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Belarus should find new export destinations at any price, Lukashenka says

 

Belarus should retain its share of “traditional” markets and find new export destinations at any price, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said during a meeting that was held in the Palace of the Republic on Monday on the occasion of forthcoming Independence Day (July 3).

“The increasing competition in traditional markets is an obvious challenge to us,” he said. “Our response to it should be twofold: we should retain the old traditional markets at any price and simultaneously fight our way to new markets by all possible means.”

He played up the importance of economic relations with distant countries. “Our contacts with countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, which appeared exotic yesterday, are definitely strengthening our sovereignty today,” he noted.

Given that consumer preferences are unpredictable and influenced by hundreds of different factors, Belarus should focus on the production of goods that are the least susceptible to fluctuations in demand, Mr. Lukashenka said.

“We were once criticized for our emphasis on agriculture and told that it’s better to buy all food abroad,” he said. “Today we can see that agriculture is becoming not only one of the foundations of our exports. A developed agriculture is the cornerstone of our independence.”

He explained that the agricultural sector ensures the country’s food security and increases its export potential. The demand for motor vehicles and televisions rises and falls and people did without them at difficult times, but food is necessary for people every day, he said. That is why there will always be demand for quality food as well as clothes and housing, he said.

Mr. Lukashenka described Belarus’ future nuclear power plant as “the foundation of our energy security” but noted the need to make active use of alternative energy sources. //BelaPAN