MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - State-owned Belaruskali, one of the world's largest producers of potash, plans to increase production capacity of the crop nutrient by 2025, the Belta news agency quoted it as saying, as President Alexander Lukashenko played down sanctions risks.

The United States imposed sanctions on Belaruskali, Minsk's main foreign currency earner, earlier in August to step up pressure on Lukashenko's government for a political crackdown. The sanctions are expected to come into force in December.

"Potash is the brand of our country," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by Belta as he launched a new mine at Belaruskali on Friday, adding that Belaruskali "is the most reliable partner in the world. And we have never and will never let our partners down".

Supplies from Belaruskali's trading arm - Belarus Potash Company (BPC) - account for 20% of global potash exports and are currently handled by the Klaipeda port in Lithuania.

Relations between Lithuania and Belarus have also been strained recently after Vilnius proposed European Union sanctions on Belarusian citizens and companies it said were helping migrants cross into EU states.

The U.S. sanctions do not include BPC, which ships potash mainly to China, India and Brazil and competes with Canada's Nutrien and Mosaic among others.

Amid the Western sanctions, Belaruskali is currently searching for new destinations and possibilities to deliver its product, Lukashenko said. "The world is big," he added, according to Belta.

Belaruskali plans to increase its production capacity to 15.1–15.5 million tonnes by 2025 from the current 13 million tonnes, Belta reported, citing the company.

The company raised its exports by 10% to 7.0 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, it added. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)