Belarus government to fix cement price to calm down construction materials market

The Belarusian construction materials market will be regulated through introducing a single price for cement. The topic was discussed at today’s session of the Council of Ministers Presidium. Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorskiy criticised the Architecture and Construction Ministry for the problems individuals have with buying construction materials, first of all, cement. “The problem should be fixed this week. People should get as much quality construction materials as they need at market prices. Profiteering from cement shortages is inadmissible”, stressed the head of government. Architecture and Construction Minister Alexander Seleznev explained, in order to deal with the problem, a draft Council of Ministers resolution had been prepared to “introduce a single cement price starting tomorrow”. The Minister attributed cement shortages to the poor cooperation with the Trade Ministry. Apart from that, cement producers exported a lot of their make, which was profitable for them. Now the situation has been addressed to satisfy the home demand and leave enough cement for export. “We will re-route the supplies and will regulate them”, noted Alexander Seleznev. He added, the cement price will be equal both in shops and at the Zhdanovichi market.