Self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko presented gifts of potatoes and rapeseed oil to the leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Source: Ukrainian public broadcaster hromadske.ua with reference to BelTA, a Belarusian state-owned news outlet
Quote from BelTA: "Even before leaving for the SCO summit in China, Lukashenko had promised that he would bring along several sacks of potatoes from his own farm as gifts for foreign leaders.
Details: Potatoes of the Pershatsvet and Breeze varieties were placed in specially prepared linen bags, while another gift was rapeseed oil, which television referred to as “the most beneficial”.
Among those present at the SCO summit were Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Belarusian outlet Zerkalo wrote that in recent months, Belarusians from different regions complained of shortages and poor potato quality. Producers maintained that the low government purchase price for state reserves rendered deliveries unprofitable, so they turned to higher-paying markets or exports.
“Lukashenko himself explained that producers were targeting the Russian market, because prices there were several times higher. He later also said that the shortage arose due to internal political reasons,” BelTA says.
Background:
For the first time, the Belarusian Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade has invoked antitrust rules in examining violations of trade law linked to potato sales.On foreign markets, prices were 2.5-3 times higher than in Belarus, while farmers were still obliged to supply produce under contracts with trading organisations from stabilisation funds. “Producers began using schemes, prioritising economic interest in selling their crops,” the ministry said.It was previously reported that shops in Belarus would be fined if they had no potatoes in stock. A law signed by Lukashenko on 12 July 2025, introducing penalties for the absence of potatoes, was released on the Belarusian National Internet Portal.Earlier reports indicated that in 2025, Russia and Belarus are experiencing severe challenges in the potato market, a staple food for local consumers.Prices have soared to record levels and continue to climb. Both Putin and Lukashenko are concerned, as potatoes have usually been one of the most affordable sources of calories for the population, particularly for low-income households.Restrictions introduced by Lukashenko in October 2022 were intended to curb inflation and make food more affordable. The result, however, was the opposite: farmers lost the incentive to grow potatoes, as it became unprofitable.
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