President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new decree aimed at ensuring the stable availability of fruits and vegetables in retail outlets, particularly during the offseason. The announcement was made by the presidential press service.
The document introduces a mechanism under which suppliers are required to deliver produce to retail chains, while retailers are allowed to take out preferential loans to prepay part of the supply.
Specifically, retailers can access loans in Belarusian rubles with a 3% annual interest rate to make advance payments covering 30% of the volume of fruit and vegetable products ordered under the state procurement system.
According to the decree, retail chains are obligated to maintain a stock of such produce during periods when fresh supply is typically limited. Failure to fulfill these obligations will result in administrative liability for both suppliers and retailers, the press service emphasized.
Source: sputnik.by