MINSK, 30 March (BelTA) – Belarus is not engaged in re-export of potatoes, Belarus' Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Vladimir Grakun told reporters, BelTA has learned.
“Saying that Belarus is engaged in re-export of potato is nonsense. Even today we have 114,000 tonnes stocked in warehouses,” Vladimir Grakun said. The warehouse stocks also include 40,000 tonnes of vegetables and 7,000 tonnes of Belarusian-grown apples.
Vladimir Grakun noted that some in Russia claim that Belarus is re-exporting potatoes. In this regard he remarked that last year, Belarusian agricultural organizations alone harvested 1.2 million tonnes of potatoes. “We exported 294,000 tonnes of potatoes to Russia. Those were home-grown potatoes. Look at the statistics. We have not imported potatoes in such big amounts,” he said.
According to him, Belarus can sell 114,000 tonnes of potatoes that are stored in warehouses. “The program to build storage facilities for potatoes, vegetables and fruit is yielding results. Today we have the capacities to store more than 830,000 tonnes of potatoes, 148,000 tonnes of vegetables, 102,000 tonnes of fruit. This has enabled us to sell our products when there is good demand,” he stated. Now, for example, it is good time to sell potatoes. The prices are very good.
Commenting on agricultural imports, Vladimir Grakun said that the country seeks to produce everything it needs. “We will import only those products that we cannot grow, for example citrus fruits,” he noted. There is no ban on agricultural imports for retail networks.
