OREANDA-NEWS. Belarus has been gradually reducing the level of state support for agricultural enterprises, Vice Minister of Agriculture Vasili Sedin told reporters on Thursday.

“Today the government provides great support for farmers. In 2010 it accounted for some USD 3 billion, but it is on the decline. Belarus is in tune with the common trend of the Customs Union, which insists that member states should reduce government support of agricultural production. Kazakhstan is critical of Belarus for providing excessive support for farmers,” the vice minister said. He referred to one of the latest statements by President Lukashenko, who suggested a new approach: the government will provide assistance only to those individual projects, which are cost effective.

According to the 2014 budget bill, the government support of state-owned farms will reduce by at least 21% to some USD 1.5 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture told. USD 1.5 billion is a preliminary figure, which will be adjusted at the end of the year after analyzing all expenditures, the ministry said.