Events

MINSK, 16 February (BelTA) – The Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry hopes to settle all the issues with Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) in a calm and businesslike manner, Head of the Foreign Economic Activity Department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry Aleksei Bogdanov said on the sidelines of the 1st Belarus Agrarian Forum on 16 February, BelTA has learned.

“We hope to settle all the moot points in a calm and businesslike manner. We will resolve all the issues in the near future. These matters should be dealt with by professionals at the level of the veterinary services of the two countries,” Aleksei Bogdanov noted.

When asked to comment on the possible losses for Belarus due to Rosselkhoznadzor’s restrictions in 2016, Aleksei Bogdanov asked not to dramatize the situation as Belarus has been actively diversifying markets for its agricultural products. “The situation is under control. The volumes that we were planning for Russia are being redirected to other markets. We are also changing the production structure,” said the representative of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.

for example, at the end of February, Belarus will attend Gulfood 2017 in Dubai, the largest international food expo. There Belarus will have its own large stand showcasing its beef, dairy and poultry producers. “It is the largest exhibition in the region where we can find our customers. It is attended by preventatives of the Gulf States, Africa. A special workshop wil be organized or Russian-speaking countries on the specifics of the markets in these regions,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.

“I cannot say that we are incurring some losses. The stocks at warehouses are within the required norms, even less. There are no extra stocks at warehouses,” he noted.

Belarus Agrarian forum is running in Minsk on 16 February. The main focus is the production of forage, flax and potatoes. The event gathered about 150 participants from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and other countries. Among them are representatives of the government bodies, heads of agricultural companies and major academic institutions, managers, marketers and other professionals.