Business news

MINSK, 5 January (BelTA) - Belarus plans to export $6 billion worth of agricultural products in 2018, Belarus’ Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel on 4 January, BelTA has learned.

“In terms of export, we will aim for $6 billion in 2018. We closed the year 2017 with the figure of about $5 billion. Next year’s target is ambitious. We must increase the export of marketable products such as milk, meat and other products in order to ensure such a growth,” the minister said.

Leonid Zayats noted that in January-October 2017 the foreign exchange earnings in the agricultural industry rose by 18.9%. “We got over $4 billion ($618 million more than in 2016). We will add approximately $1 billion, which we earned in the last two months of the year, to the country's coffers,” he added.

The minister also commented on the harvest forecast in 2018. “Every year we want to add to our harvest numbers, do everything to ensure that the country has no less than 10 million tonnes of bread,” he said