Belarus: Lukashenko Sets 3.3 Million-Tonne Potato Target for 2026, Calls for More Area and Exports

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on 18 September for a larger potato area in Belarus and instructed the government to find new sales markets, state news agency BelTA and regional media reported.

Speaking at the peasant farm “Diana” in the Shklov district of the Mogilev region, Lukashenko said Belarus must grow more potatoes. He named Russia and Uzbekistan as markets with known demand and said enough domestic seed tubers must be secured for expansion.

According to BelTA, the 2026 target is 3.3 million tonnes of potatoes, 0.3 million tonnes more than last year. Agricultural organisations and peasant farms are expected to contribute 0.88 million tonnes, 47,800 tonnes more than a year earlier. About 70% of Belarusian potato production comes from household plots rather than commercial farms.

BelTA’s harvest bulletin of 18 September said potatoes had been lifted from 28% of the planned area, with 212,000 tonnes dug at an average yield of 340 centners per hectare (34 t/ha). The Mogilev region led with 69,000 tonnes.

The agency also noted that 147 Belarusian potato varieties have been developed and submitted to state variety testing since 1939.

The 3.3 million tonnes is a plan figure, not a harvest result. The large share of household plots means that commercial output — the part that can be exported — is much smaller than the national total.

Earlier this month the Belarusian government capped potato prices for the 2026/27 off-season (leugh barrachd). The president’s call for exports and the domestic price cap point in different directions: one seeks new markets abroad, the other protects consumers at home.

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A state-led push to expand Belarusian potato area and exports would add supply to the Russian and Central Asian markets, where Kazakhstan and other suppliers already compete. With household plots producing most of the crop, the scale of any export increase will depend on how far commercial farms expand their area and secure seed.

Dealbh: Villagers with a potato planter in Klepachi, Belarus (illustrative). Викиникос / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0