The meeting separately addressed the results of the work of Belkoopsoyuz. The president pointed out that the organization has repeatedly received state support. This year alone, Br1.3 million has been allocated just for fuel for its mobile store trucks. “If you continue to organize the trade of Belkoopsoyuz in this way, it will count against you. Are we supposed to buy fuel for retailers? There have been no such ‘miracles’ before. We agreed last year that governors would be able to help you with store repairs from their budgets. Is not that support? If we keep helping them, we will not be able to wean them off these ‘handouts.’ Why should they work? They are living a good life,” the head of state stated.

As a negative trend, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted the reduction of Belkoopsoyuz trade outlets in rural areas. A year ago, they accounted for nearly 25% of all such facilities, and today that figure stands at approximately 23%. “At this rate, you will lose your entire retail chain, where you can still sell the products you make,” he warned.

The president also pointed out the lack of positive dynamics in the financial flows from Belkoopsoyuz trading activities, with losses reaching Br33 million.

At the same time, the Belkoopsoyuz management has not neglected its own financial interests. It receives higher wages than most ministers (1.5 times higher than the housing and utilities minister and the economy minister, 1.3 times higher than the architecture and construction minister, and 1.2 times higher than the industry minister). Meanwhile, the number of rural stores is declining, partly because of the low, meager wages of sales staff.  
Aleksandr Lukashenko once again emphasized that state aid should not be gratuitous, should not be a “gift,” but should be provided on a repayable basis, and this requirement applies equally not only to Belkoopsoyuz but also to other industries. In this regard, the president mentioned that a proposal had been submitted for his consideration to make another such “gift” from the state, this time to agricultural organizations – to allocate Br10 million for the purchase of growth regulators for rapeseed. “What does ‘allocate’ mean? It is a loan! Here is Br10 million (okay, at a lower interest rate), you must return it tomorrow when you get the rapeseed,” the president explained the conditions for providing budget funds. “You are throwing around this money as if we have nothing else to spend budget funds on!”

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