US EditionRussia's Potato Dilemma Risks Causing a Health Crisis
- Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered increased potato production in 2024 to meet domestic needs and help Russia amid regional shortages.
- This directive followed crop damage by frost in neighboring areas and coincided with Belarus lifting its potato import ban from the EU amid tariff disputes.
- Despite Belarus facing its own potato shortages and price controls, it exported 170,000 tons of potatoes to Russia, where production fell 14%, driving prices up sharply.
- By May 2025, the retail price of potatoes in Russia surpassed 85 rubles per kilogram, with President Putin recognizing the gravity of the situation and emphasizing the need for enhanced regional collaboration.
- The shortage risks worsening nutrition and health in Russia, prompting officials to accelerate stabilization efforts and encourage increased domestic planting to offset deficits.
16 Articles
16 Articles
After reducing imports from EU countries, Russia suffers from a shortage and a surge in potato prices. Vladimir Putin then turned to his Belarusian ally, Alexander Lukashenko, whose country also suffers from a shortage of stocks.
Russian head of state Vladimir Putin admitted on Tuesday that there is a potato shortage in the country. "It turned out that we don't have enough potatoes," he said on the state television. The harvest of the previous year was already used up. In Russia, potatoes are among the basic foods, so the potato shortage hits the population directly. Since the beginning of 2025, the prices for the tubers increased by more than half. During this time, the…
An embarrassment for Putin. The Russian president must now admit that there is a potato shortage in his country. With far-reaching consequences!
The crisis of the Russian economy is gradually coming to the attention of consumers. Now Russian leader Vladimir Putin had to admit on state television: Russia's potato stocks are exhausted.
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