Łukašenka says Putin promised to reserve grain for Belarus

August 26, BPN. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to reserve and sell one million tons of grain to Belarus, Alaksandr Łukašenka has said during his visit to the Minsk Mechanical Plant.

This reserve is needed “just in case,” as this year Belarus “will also gather its own good harvest of grain,” Łukašenka’s press office quotes him as saying.

In turn, Belarus will be able to “additionally increase the supply of dairy and meat to the Russian market, if necessary.” Łukašenka also stressed that Minsk expects to earn over $7 billion in revenue from agricultural and industrial exports in 2022.

Three weeks earlier, Łukašenka was furious that that agricultural production dropped by more than eight percent year on year in the first six months of 2022.

According to the National Statistical Committee (Belstat), agricultural production plunged by 10.4 percent year on year from January to the end of July, a record drop in the last few years.