BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/04/2008

Belarusian President Suggests Further Increases In Food Prices

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on April 22 in Hrodna Oblast that food prices in Belarus should be brought into line with those in neighboring countries, Belapan reported. "Prices in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and European Union countries will be more or less the same," Lukashenka said. "They are a bit lower here today. We are keeping price caps, but this is wrong and paves the way for [disadvantageous] sales of products abroad. There is no other way for us; we will have to raise food prices to prevent products from being washed away to neighboring countries." According to the government statistics office, retail food prices in Minsk rose by 17.6 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2008. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/04/3-cee/cee-230408.asp

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