Report of Brest Oblast Governor Piotr Parkhomchik

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Governor of Brest Oblast Piotr Parkhomchik to receive his report on 28 May.

"I was briefed on Brest Oblast. I am pleased that everything is good in some areas," the Belarusian leader remarked.

However, Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined some challenges in the transport and logistics sector: "What issues does Brest Oblast face? I have been informed that things are not entirely smooth [in the transport and logistics sector]. We provided favorable conditions for purchasing vehicles for transport operators, as far as I know. Certainly, we are looking forward to concrete results."

As for agriculture, Brest Oblast ranks the country’s leading region posting a 4% growth rate, Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Is it much or little? What are the reserves?” the Belarusian leader asked. “The milk yield per cow is strong there. I take it into account. I am always calm about milk yields, because I know how to make them lower or bigger. I know all the tricks. I do not reproach Brest Oblast. With all kinds of techniques, the milk yield at 8,000kg per cow per year is a very good result.”

“You seem to have almost no cattle losses in the oblast,” the head of state said speaking about Brest Oblast’s performance in agriculture.

“We have cattle losses but we have reduced them in comparison with the previous year,” Piotr Parkhomchik said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko warned in this regard: “All those guilty in cattle losses will be held fully accountable. We have inspected Vitebsk Oblast to find out that veterinarians, instead of treating animals, decided not to report cattle deaths.”

The head of state is sure that it is impossible to hide such facts. “All those guilty in cattle losses will be held fully accountable. If we had kept all the livestock, we would have had great results,” he said.

"There has been a lot of talk about this, especially after the meeting with the Russian President, during which he joked about potatoes. This issue is very serious for us. Because if there is anything we are very good at, it is growing potatoes. We need to produce enough potatoes to provide for both Belarus and Russia," the head of state said.

"We need to help our Russian kin people. And besides, we will earn good money from it," Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

The President is confident that there will be demand for potatoes, especially considering the negative impact of frost on crops in neighboring countries.

Aleksandr Lukashenko gave similar instructions regarding the production of other vegetables: beets, cabbage, carrot, and onion. “We have once again come to the conclusion that we need stabilization stocks. Today we should think about where we will store all these fruits and vegetables," he said.

"This year we probably won't have a very good crop of apples. We will have some harvest but not as big as we would want to. Already today we need to think ahead. I have instructed the government to think where we buy apples (if we need to) to have some stocks and also where we buy in the off-season," the head of state said.