MOSCOW (AFP) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday banned price increases with immediate effect to curb galoping inflation in the ex-Soviet country.
“From October 6, all price increases are forbidden. Forbidden! From today. Not from tomorrow, from today. So that prices aren’t driven up in the next 24 hours,” Lukashenko told a meeting with officials.
He said consumer prices were “outrageous” and have increased by 18 per cent year-on-year.
“Meat, dairy products, poultry… are getting more expensive.
“In Minsk there has been a shortage of eggs in recent days,” said 68-year-old Lukashenko.
“The task is to return to an inflation rate of seven-eight per cent by next year,” he added.
Belarus, which borders Ukraine, is a staunch ally of Russia and allowed its territory to be used by Moscow’s troops to launch a military campaign against Kyiv in February.
Belarus has been hit with a wave of Western sanctions for aiding Russia’s military action in Ukraine and for a ferocious post-election crackdown in 2020.
