Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 November (BelTA) – Belarus does not intend to leave Russia’s dairy market, Belarus’ Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.

When asked whether Belarus is considering the scenario of Russia, the main market for Belarus’ dairy products, becoming self-sufficient, and what measures will be taken to diversify the export of dairy products, Mikhail Rusy said Belarus does not plan to leave this market. “We have developed a strategy together with our colleagues. This is why we are ready for competition in Russia. At the same time, we keep augmenting the supplies to third countries. If you leave a market today, they will not be waiting there for you tomorrow. However, you can spot a niche in every country,” he emphasized and added that consumers are those who call the shots and decide which products they want to see.

Belarus’ agricultural output is constantly growing, the deputy prime minister remarked. “The livestock population, milk and beef production are growing all the time,” he clarified. Mikhail Rusy stressed that in the recent years the country overhauled its dairy farms and introduced new technologies, which now helps boost the export of dairy products. “In the last five years, the dairy exports went up by 250,000 to 270,000 tonnes of milk. The current five-year plan has seen a growth of more than a million tonnes so far. This means that the technologies we introduced before have brought results,” he pointed out.

Speaking about the prospects of Belarus’ agribusiness for the period up to 2020, Mikhail Rusy underlined that he would describe the plans as “three times thousand”. “This refers to one thousand liters of milk per citizen, a thousand kilograms of grain, and a thousand kilos of potatoes. If we reach these numbers, we will get the necessary milk production volume and revenue. These plans are quite realistic,” he stated.