President of Belarus Lukashenko threatens to respond to Russia's embargo on Belarusian milk
President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, stated that disputes over milk supplies have again escalated between Belarus and the Russian Federation and notes that such issues must be addressed immediately during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, Mikhail Rusyy, BELTA reports.
"I'd like to note that such things must be responded to. We will not remain silent. The security services informed me that Russia has imported some New Zealand milk powder, now they are having excess of it, and are starting to ban our exports while selling their milk at high prices. It means they simply don’t like cheap milk," Lukashenko said.
He noted that Russia will be provided with Belarusian milk at prices appropriate for Belarus.
"Let them raise the price for the Russians… the Russian people there, Moscow or St. Petersburg residents are most likely fed up with the milk from New Zealand already. Therefore, I am very interested in how the issue is going to be tackled," said the President of Belarus.
The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has decided to impose restrictions on supplies of foodstuff with high violation rates. The ban will impact bulk milk and cream however, will not cover packed products and other dairy products such as pot cheese, sour cream, and butter. The import restrictions on milk, cream, condensed milk, whey, and other dairy products should have taken effect on February 26th, however, Rosselkhoznadzor suspended the enactment date until March 6th.