At the propaganda event “Unity Marathon” on October 26 in Zhlobin, the head of the governor’s administration Dzmitry Krutoi spoke about the role of the Belarusian Metallurgical Plant.
The official recalled Lukashenka’s demand for state support: that every budget ruble be spent prudently and carefully.
“Because the responsibility is huge and the obligations to the people are very large. But BMZ did everything great, very decently. And today the taxes coming into the budget allow us to pay pensions, build wonderful social facilities, buy medicines and bear other important expenses,” said Krutoi.
From the official’s words, others should probably conclude that the authorities at one time helped BMZ so much that now the plant was thriving, providing great assistance to the budget. However, in reality, things are different.
The authorities really closely monitored the activities of a large plant for many years, almost managing it manually. And they managed it to the point that BMZ turned into a burden on the budget.
One example of failed decisions: in the 2010s, the enterprise tried to conquer Western markets, trading at a loss. As a result, in 2017, the EU imposed sanctions against BMZ due to dumping.
BMZ continued to operate with huge debts that it was unable to pay off. The state helped it. In 2022, due to the regime’s complicity in military aggression against Ukraine, the plant fell under new EU sanctions.
The financial performance of the enterprise has been hidden for quite some time. This year, BELTA, citing BMZ CEO Dmitry Korchik, wrote that “there is a net profit, positive profitability”, but without specifying figures.
All this hints at the fact that the once successful enterprise, after the efforts of the authorities, continues to operate at the expense of subsidies.
One of the last honest news about BMZ appeared a year and a half ago: then the government announced compensation to Belagroprombank in 2023-2024 for losses from the BMZ export loan. (Charter97)