Business news

MINSK, 21 May (BelTA) – Belarus plans to hold a meeting with the WTO Cairns Group to discuss the size of state support to farmers in June 2018, Aleksei Bogdanov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, said in an interview to the ONT TV channel on 20 May, BelTA has learned.

Aleksei Bogdanov stated that the work on determining the level of state support to farmers, which will be allowed to Belarus in case it joins the WTO, is well underway. “We plan to hold an expanded meeting with members of the Cairns Group in June 2018 and talk over the level of state support with them,” the representative of the Agriculture and Food Ministry said. He explained that the Cairns Group is an influential WTO group of agricultural exporting nations. As for the amount of customs duties, Aleksei Bogdanov reiterated that Belarus seeks to join the WTO on the same terms as Russia.

Aleksei Bogdanov also talked about possible changes that the WTO accession might bring to Belarusian farmers and exporters. “It all depends on us. The WTO is a so-called window of opportunities that we should use to the maximum,” he said. Among such opportunities Aleksei Bogdanov named the attraction of new investors in agriculture, the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements with the WTO member states. According to the representative of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, the most important thing for Belarus will be access to a wide range of WTO instruments in resolving trade disputes.

As for the readiness to join the organization, Aleksei Bogdanov said that Belarus is approaching its final part.

The Cairns Group is an association of agricultural exporting countries. It was established in Cairns, Australia in 1986. The Cairns Group, which consists of 20 countries, seeks to liberalize global trade in agricultural produce.