Lukashenko calls on government to address decline in industrial output
17.02.2026
MINSK (
BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko singled out a decline in industrial output as a key concerning trend as he heard the government’s 2025 report on 17 February, BelTA has learned.
“Throughout the year, this crucial sector experienced a steady slowdown. In the second half, the output stood at 98.2 % against the previous year, showing negative dynamics. January 2026 brought another 3.4 % decrease. Half of the manufacturing industry is facing difficulties, or even worse,” the president said. “On our key Russian market, the Industry Ministry alone posted a $1 billion shortfall last year. What is even worse (and I warned the prime minister about this) – they shipped goods there and left them there without payment. We are making the same old mistakes. This is already a crime. We are seeing a decline in the output of key goods.”
Along with this, there is an impressive growth in inventories – 2.5 billion Belarusian rubles over the past year. “There’s effectively $4 billion (12 billion Belarusian rubles) worth of products sitting in warehouses. And in January 2026, we added another 800 million Belarusian rubles. That’s the kind of work we are doing,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In addition to this, nearly $500 million in export earnings (overdue debt) has not been brought back into the country.
“Throughout the year, this crucial sector experienced a steady slowdown. In the second half, the output stood at 98.2 % against the previous year, showing negative dynamics. January 2026 brought another 3.4 % decrease. Half of the manufacturing industry is facing difficulties, or even worse,” the president said. “On our key Russian market, the Industry Ministry alone posted a $1 billion shortfall last year. What is even worse (and I warned the prime minister about this) – they shipped goods there and left them there without payment. We are making the same old mistakes. This is already a crime. We are seeing a decline in the output of key goods.”
Along with this, there is an impressive growth in inventories – 2.5 billion Belarusian rubles over the past year. “There’s effectively $4 billion (12 billion Belarusian rubles) worth of products sitting in warehouses. And in January 2026, we added another 800 million Belarusian rubles. That’s the kind of work we are doing,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In addition to this, nearly $500 million in export earnings (overdue debt) has not been brought back into the country.