Belarus can and must engage in import substitution in those segments that have been abandoned by investors from unfriendly countries due to sanctions. The Head of State, Alexander Lukashenko, spoke about the work in this direction at a meeting with the leadership of the Council of Ministers, citing the example of the departed McDonald's, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
"I want to give a very vivid example publicly. I didn't name McDonald's for nothing. The Americans imposed sanctions. They decided to cease their operations and leave Belarus. The door is open, leave. We didn't hold anyone back, but we didn't kick anyone out either. They were told: if you want to work, work; if you don't, leave. 'But it's McDonald's...' 'Will anyone be able to work like McDonald's in Belarus afterwards?' – that was the main slogan. And people came to me: 'We can't... We can't cut a bun in half and stuff sausage or meat into it, we can't do french fries.' We can't do anything," the Head of State recalled the problematic issue that arose at the initial stage.
Alexander Lukashenko noted in this regard that Belarus sells high-quality food products all over the world – both dairy and meat, and much more. "Potatoes – well, we are 'bulbashy' (potato-eaters). Baking this bun – in our childhood, there were plenty of these buns, we bought them for a few kopecks, and they were tasty and good. Can't we cut a bun in half and stuff meat, potatoes, or salad into it? I think, let me check if we can or cannot," the President said.
The task of dealing with this issue and keeping it under control was assigned to Press Secretary Natalya Eismont, and from the government – to First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov. "The task was forcefully given to two active individuals (the task. – BELTA's note). They just happened to be available. Go and do it," said the Head of State.
Alexander Lukashenko said that he himself eventually became involved in the issue, although he had never been to McDonald's: "I had to dive in, study this system. Without trying anything, and so on."
As a result, 25 former McDonald's restaurants are now operational and their products are in demand among the population. "To date, the flow of people is increasing, as Snovkov reported to me. People are happily eating what is prepared there. We started preparing what McDonald's traditionally prepared here. And our French fries are good – made from our own potatoes. McDonald's did not always buy Belarusian potatoes for this. They brought them from God knows where. Why? They had agreements. Someone paid someone somehow. Now we eat our own potatoes. I am sure they are better. They are still putting meat in there – they've done it," stated the Belarusian leader. "The question arises, so why were you confusing us, saying it was impossible, that it had to be sold to someone?"
Alexander Lukashenko explained that at the decision-making stage, he thought that if Russia could replace McDonald's by creating its own chain on the site of the abandoned restaurants, then it was possible in Belarus as well.
Moreover, this is not only a matter of import substitution as such, but also of feeding people and controlling the quality of products. "This is ours, Belarusian. And we are responsible for it. We are feeding our people properly. Import substitution in feeding people is the most important thing. Feeding people is health. Everything else is nonsense. Nuts, bolts, and the like – we know how to tighten and produce them," emphasized the President.
"But they wanted to sell: 'We don't know how, we can't, oh dear...' We know how and we can do everything! This should be paramount," the head of state is confident. "They left – goodbye, the property belongs to the state. Thus, they abandoned the property, we picked it up, put it in order. And today these 25 restaurants are operating across the country. A private entrepreneur has emerged who is ready to buy them, pay money, and not a small amount. A normal Belarusian, who owns property, is ready to develop this chain. Please, we will provide space for this chain in cities, in regional centers, for the development and construction of new restaurants. If not – we will give away the old ones that are not working well or are in a semi-closed state. We are ready to help in this regard."
Source: belta.by