OREANDA-NEWS. On 26 January 2009 the press service of the president of Belarus following a meeting between President Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky reported, that the Belarusian government will launch case-by-case inspections of businesses to check their price formation procedures; those violating the rules may lose their licenses,.

Prices must go down, they were supposed to increase 5% to 7% in January, Sidorsky said.

Besides, the Council of Ministers and Presidential Administrative Department will consider denominating office rent rates in Belarusian rubles and reducing existing rates proportionally to the appreciation of the euro to the Belarusian ruble. Rent rates appeared to become a major factor in price hikes.

Consumer prices were also discussed at the meeting. After the Belarusian ruble was devaluated 20.5% against the dollar on January 2, businesses selling imported commodities at markets and trading centers have shown unfounded price increases, Sidorsky said.

Prices for goods in sufficient supply have risen 30% to 60%: tomato and cucumber prices rose 50%, citric fruit prices 60%, tea and coffee 29%, household appliances 31%. On January 10, 2009, rice prices at Komarovski market rose 90%, buckwheat prices 70%, orange and tangerine prices 82%, lemon prices 62% and fish prices 22%-34% from December 31, 2008.

The government had not expected such an increase in prices, as there were a few mitigating factors: drops in global prices, reduction in agriculture support fund transfers to 1% from 2% and in the tax imposed on sale of imported goods to 5% from 15%.

According to Sidorsky, some businesses have started selling Belarusian-made prices at higher prices, which runs counter to existing rules.

As a result, prices in Belarus have hiked, whereas global prices are falling.

Sidorsky said Belarus had an efficient strategy to address the global crisis in 2009.

According to him, the IMF commended the Belarusian government for drafting a balanced action plan.

Belarus’ consumer inflation rose 13.3% on the year in 2008, above the target, Sidorsky reported to Lukashenko. Capital investment rose 23.1%, FDI amounted to USD 2 billion in 2008. The target for 2009 is USD 5 billion.