MINSK, 8 February (BelTA) – Belarus' export of agricultural and food products in 2020 grew by 4.3% year-on-year, Aleksei Bogdanov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, told a press conference on 8 February, BelTA has learned.
“The past year brought many unexpected difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic. A great bulk of our exporters serve the hospitality industry [cafes, restaurants, travel companies and hotels], which has been hit the worst in many countries. Therefore we had to make quick decisions and redirect commodity flows. Despite all the difficulties in trade, our agricultural companies managed to meet the export growth target. In 2020, Belarus exported over $5.8 billion worth of agricultural and food products, which was up by 4.3% over 2019. Currency earnings rose by $240.2 million year-on-year,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.
Export of meat and meat products amounted to about 400,000 tonnes in 2020, up by 11% over 2019. Revenues from export came at almost $1 billion, up by 4.9% year-on-year. Belarus increased supplies of pork, beef, poultry, finished specialty products, and sausage products.
Belarus exported 4.8 million tonnes of milk and dairy products (almost 60% of their total output). Currency earnings were at $2.4 billion, up by 2.7% over 2019. According to Aleksei Bogdanov, Belarus is among the world's top five exporters of some dairy products, including butter, cheese, milk powder, and milk whey.
Flour export reached $9.7 million in 2020, soaring by 68.2% year-on-year. Export of casein surged by 46.2% to $10.9 million, rapeseed oil – by 19% to $243.9 million, gelatin – by 9.5% to $8.9 million, sugar – by 37.7% to $152 million, cakes (soybean cakes and other types from the production of vegetable oils) – by 38% to $190.4 million, chocolate and cacao products – by 3.7% to $80.2 million.
“Instead of exporting raw materials, we aim to process grain, milk, and meat as much as possible in Belarus and export finished products with high added value. We want Belarusian products to leave a favorable impression on foreign consumers,” Aleksei Bogdanov added.
