Opinions & Interviews

Minsk, Moscow finding common ground on Belarus’ food supplies to Russia

MINSK, 10 June (BelTA) – Minsk and Moscow are finding common ground on the issues related to the supplies of Belarusian products to Russia, Belarus Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Igor Brylo told the STV Channel on 9 June, BelTA has learned.

Igor Brylo welcomed progress in the negotiations. “We are finding common ground. The dialogue is proceeding pretty well,” he said commenting on the recent meetings with Russian partners. The dialogue has become peaceful and constructive, he added.

Belarus Agriculture and Food Minister Anatoly Khotko will soon go to Russia where he will meet with this Russian counterpart Dmitry Patrushev. According to the deputy minister, the meeting will focus on Belarusian food supplies to Russia.

Igor Brylo recalled that in May the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) of the European Commission conducted an audit of the Belarusian system of food production control. The auditors inspected dairy, meat and fish companies, raw materials zones and gave a positive assessment to what they saw. The Agriculture and Food Ministry is waiting for an official package of documents with findings of the mission. This will serve as another testimony to the quality of Belarusian products, Igor Brylo is convinced. Belarus exports dairy products, linen and rapeseed oil to Europe. The country is working to cement its positions on this market and to get European certificates for more domestic companies.

The deputy minister named China another strategic market. The certificates to ship products to China were given to 54 dairy companies, two meat packaging companies, and five major poultry factories. Last year the export of agricultural products to this country quadrupled to reach $82 million. Over the four months this year Belarus shipped $22 million worth of products to China, up 25% over the same period in 2018. The Agriculture and Food Ministry believes that the export will hit $100 million by the yearend.

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