“Nobody should give up Belaruskali, it would be a crime,” Semashko told reporters today in the capital city of Minsk.

President Aleksandr Lukashenko said last week that the government is prepared to sell a stake in the company that’s worth as much as $32 billion in its entirety. China, India, Russia and two western companies are competing for a shareholding in Belaruskali which produces 15 percent of the world’s potash, he said in October.

Belaruskali is set to repay a $1 billion loan from OAO Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, and the Eurasian Development Bank ahead of schedule to avoid paying a higher interest rate, Semashko said.

The company’s improved finances and a more stable economy will allow Belaruskali to allocate funds to repay the debt six months early, he said.