Business news

MINSK, 2 April (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia intend to agree the intended milk trade figures for this year in Q2 2018, BelTA learned from State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota on 2 April.

According to the source, Belarus and Russia agree the intended food export and import figures every year but this work does not follow some specific schedule. For instance, last year’s intended food trade figures were agreed only at the very end of the year.

“Which means we work outside the legislation framework for a year. This is why I’ve raised the issue several times: let’s agree the intended trade figures before the new year or shortly after the year begins. But, unfortunately, we’ve been unable to reverse the trend for now,” stated Grigory Rapota. In his words, there are plans to agree intended milk trade figures in early Q2 2018.

The official said that the work to determine the mutual trade volumes is being done at the ministry level. The Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia will pass the decision once the document is ready. “We can even do it without a session of the Council of Ministers. If, let’s say, we had agreed the food trade figures on 5 January 2018, we would have sent it to the Council of Ministers for approval the next day and that would have been the end of it,” he explained.

Grigory Rapota was convinced that if the intended food trade figures were compiled and agreed on time, then many issues would be resolved right away. “I am always in favor of reaching an agreement in advance and executing it precisely. Then we will have no unnecessary tension,” the official was convinced.