MART told how the representation of Belarusian goods in stores will change

Changes in approaches to mandatory assortment lists will increase the representation of domestic goods on store shelves, while the range of imported products will not be reduced. This was told to journalists on September 7 by First Deputy Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Natalia Vasilevskaya, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency reports.

The photo is illustrative in nature

According to the Doctrine of National Food Security of Belarus until 2030, the optimistic level of food security assumes the share of own production at the level of 80-85%. In accordance with the plan for the development of trade and catering, the share of domestically produced goods by the end of 2026 should be 58%. According to the results of work for the first half of 2026, the indicator increased by 0.1 percentage points and amounted to 54.6%. In this regard, MART signed a resolution of August 20, 2026 No. 48, which clarified the approach to the availability of goods of domestic production.

As explained by N. Vasilevskaya, the mandatory assortment list establishes a minimum set of goods that must be presented in the retail facility, taking into account its format and retail space.

- Mandatory assortment list is the minimum of goods that should be on the shelf of the store in accordance with its format and retail area. Now this list is not so wide as to talk about a serious restriction of choice for buyers. The refinement of approaches will increase the representation of domestic products and ensure its wider presence on the shelves, she said.

At the same time, the presence of a minimum amount of Belarusian goods does not mean a reduction in the range of imported products.

- No one restricts the seller in the possibility of offering a wider range of goods of foreign origin in the presence of demand. It is not about replacing imported goods with domestic ones. Belarusian products should receive priority, but imported goods will also be presented on the shelf, the First Deputy Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus emphasized.

According to her, assortment requirements depend on the area of the retail facility and apply to various formats of trade - from small shops in the countryside to supermarkets and hypermarkets in the capital and regional centers. At the same time, assortment lists are not established for certain categories of trade objects. In particular, we are talking about branded stores, pharmacies and stock stores.

As an example, N. Vasilevskaya cited the requirements for the representation of Belarusian chocolate.

- If a shopping facility has an area of more than 8 thousand square meters, about 80 varieties of Belarusian chocolate should be presented there. In the store area of about 200 square meters. m - from 10 to 20 varieties. In this case, the variety is considered not only a separate name of the goods, but also its size or packaging. For example, chocolate of one name weighing 50, 100 and 200 g – these are already three varieties.

The speaker stressed that the changes are not aimed at reducing imports and should not lead to a narrowing of choice for buyers.

- In no way will this reduce the range of imported goods. This can become a restriction only if the consumer chooses Belarusian products and refuses imported ones, because he liked it better, Vasilevskaya said.