Lukashenko Brought The Agricultural Sector To Collapse
43- 5.01.2026, 13:37
- 26,146
Large-scale livestock grazing.
Over the past two years, Belarusian agricultural enterprises lost more than 200 thousand cows and calves, as well as 340 thousand pigs. According to the National Statistics Committee on December 1, 2025, the number of cattle in agricultural enterprises of Belarus decreased by 111 thousand heads (minus 2.8%) by the same date of the previous year. There are 70 thousand fewer pigs (minus 3.4%), writes "Belarusians and the market".
The reduction of livestock in the agricultural sector continues for the second year in a row. In the previous year, 2024, the number of cattle decreased by 94.2 thousand heads (by 2.3%), while the number of pigs - by 270.2 thousand heads (by 11.9%). Total for the last two years - minus 200 thousand cows and calves, as well as 340 thousand pigs.
Where are the outbreaks noticed?
In the past year, Vitebsk region suffered the greatest losses. Here for 11 months the number of pigs fell by one and a half times: at the beginning of 2025 in the region there were 410 thousand pigs, and now there are only 268 thousand. Vitebsk region is also in the anti-leaders in calves and cows - the reduction amounted to 8.5% of the livestock.
The statistics does not directly say in which districts of Vitebsk region there were outbreaks, apparently, epizootic. However, there are data on the reduction of the total index of livestock and poultry production - as Belstat explains, pigs are responsible for it, while poultry grew. Cattle and poultry farming fell the most in Sharkovski (almost 2-fold), Verkhnedvinsk (1.7-fold) and Chashniki (by 26%) districts.
Also, Minsk voblast suffered from the decline in pigs - there's no data on the number of livestock, but the cultivation decreased by 25% over the year. At the same time, the total figures on the cultivation of all livestock and poultry fell the most in Volozhin district - by 65.5%, in Molodechno district - by 28.2%, in Minsk - by 16.5%.
What's going on in Gomel region, we don't know. The regional committee has published data only on cows, the figures on pigs are missing. But this very region was the center of the disaster a year ago - according to the results of 2024, the number of pigs here has decreased by almost a third. Some districts of Minsk voblast (Volozhinsky, Kletsky) were left without pigs at all.
As for cattle, its decline in 2025 is observed, except for Vitsebsk voblast, also in Mahiliou voblast. Osipovichi and Klimovichi districts lost more than 20% of the herd.
Belarus buys pork in Russia
We recall that Belarus has become the largest importer of pork from Russia - the volume of Belarusian purchases amounted to almost half of all Russian imports of this meat. According to Forbes, purchases by the Belarusian side last year amounted to about $100 million. Earlier, on the contrary, Belarus supplied pork to Russia - about 60 thousand tons annually.
Raising at the meetings didn't help
In May, at a meeting with the government, Alexander Lukashenko was indignant about the record level of livestock deaths in Belarus. During a trip to Vitebsk region in October, Alexander Lukashenko said that in January-September, the country's cattle deaths amounted to 108 thousand heads, which is 5% lower than last year. At the same time, an increase in the death rate was noted in 51 districts of the country, in 13 of them - an increase of one and a half times or more.
The head of the Academy of Sciences Vladimir Karanik explained on the air of state TV channels that the reason for the record death rate is "historically high density of livestock" and "more intensive livestock breeding," which requires "other approaches to the preservation" of livestock.
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