Belarusian Government Lifts Price Controls on Salt and Baking Soda

The Council of Ministers has reduced the list of goods whose retail prices are regulated through maximum mark-ups. Government Resolution No. 701 of 3 December was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal.

According to the document, the following items have been removed from the list of regulated goods:

• table salt, except sea salt and Himalayan salt,
• spirit vinegar,
• baking soda,
• swimwear,
• rubber footwear,
• terry towels,
• meat grinders and blenders,
• hair dryers,
• solid household soap,
• replacement water-filter cartridges.

As a result, 199 product categories will now be regulated instead of 211.

The government has also clarified the wording of several product categories:

• frozen processed fish, excluding steaks, as well as fish of salmon, sturgeon and tuna species (an exclusion for steaks has been added);
• vegetable and mixed vegetable–fruit juices and nectars, excluding not-from-concentrate juices (an exclusion for not-from-concentrate juices has been added);
• fruit and berry juices and nectars, excluding not-from-concentrate juices (an exclusion for not-from-concentrate juices has been added);
• A5-format exercise books with no more than 48 pages in a paper or cardboard cover and stapled binding (previously listed simply as “exercise books”);
• drawing and drafting pads no larger than A4 with no more than 20 sheets, stapled or glued (previously listed simply as “drawing and drafting pads”);
• sets of single-sided coloured paper and cardboard no larger than A4 (a format specification has been added);
• graphite pencils in wooden barrels, coloured pencils and sets of these pencils containing no more than 18 items (previously listed simply as “graphite and coloured pencils and their sets”);
• plastic or wooden rulers up to and including 20 cm (material and length specifications have been added);
• sharpeners, except electric sharpeners, and erasers (an exclusion for electric sharpeners has been added);
• watercolour sets with up to 12 colours inclusive, and gouache sold individually or in sets with up to 12 colours inclusive (a colour-limit specification has been added).

It was earlier reported that the resolution also introduces tighter control over price increases for cucumbers and tomatoes: any rise in the cost of these goods above 0.3% per month must now be justified to the Commission on State Price Regulation under the Council of Ministers.

The procedure for selling consumer goods manufactured in Belarus outside the country has also been simplified — the administrative requirement to approve their export has been abolished.

The document lifts restrictions on incentive payments for promoting imported non-food goods and removes from price regulation those goods sold on international trains. At the same time, the maximum mark-ups for children’s toys and linoleum are being increased.

The resolution also extends until the end of 2026 the right of regional executive committees and the Minsk city executive committee to approve the list of operations and organisations permitted to conduct barter transactions. In addition, it adjusts the approaches used by procurement agencies and non-producer suppliers when setting prices under government contracts provided for by Government Resolution No. 399 of 22 July 2025.