At an October 16, 2025, meeting on draft planning documents for 2026, Aleksandr Lukashenko criticized the pace of tractor sales abroad. Discussing the meeting the next day on SB TV and Alfa Radio with political analyst Piotr Piatrouski, host Vadzim Shepet claimed that Belarus is being kept in a semi-blockade, and Piatrouski cited Poland as an example:
"Take the example of Poland's Podlaskie Voivodeship. ... Here's a demonstration. They've always bought Belarusian tractors there, but now the government is banning their use."
In reality, it wasn't Belarus tractors that came under sanctions, but a Poland-based company, MTZ Belarus Traktor sp. z o.o., which was selling new machines to Poles by passing them off as used equipment. This allowed the company to circumvent the ban on registering new tractors that didn't meet European standards. These MTZ machines lacked certification showing compliance with emissions and technical standards, and weren't equipped with the necessary sensors and systems regulating emissions to meet EU requirements.Retry After 2016, such tractors could not be registered in Poland because they didn't meet environmental standards.
When this scheme came to light, farmers were indeed banned from using those Belarusian tractors. This ban affected 7,000 units. But because so many farmers were impacted, the government lifted the ban — the situation was resolved in the farmers' favor.
