MINSK, 19 May (BelTA) – Belarus sells cheese in 26 countries worldwide, Belarus' Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Aleksei Bogdanov told BelTA at a seminar titled “Classic cheeses - modern approaches”.
“Belarus is the world's fourth biggest cheese exporter after the European Union, the USA and New Zealand. Today we export our cheese to 26 countries and plan to penetrate more markets. Over the next five years, we seek to significantly increase milk production up to 9.2 million tonnes per year. Cheese output will also grow. World statistics show that the global cheese trade is on the rise, therefore the competition in the market is pretty tough. We need to focus on diversification, follow global trends, study customer preferences in various countries and build a better understanding of what cheeses enjoy the biggest demand,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.
In 2020, Belarus produced 276,000 tonnes of cheese, of which 230,000 tonnes were delivered abroad. In the first quarter of this year, 60,100 tonnes of cheese were exported (up 11.4% in kind year-on-year). There are plans to increase the export.
As for the overall export of agricultural products and foodstuffs, it is expected to reach $6 billion in 2021, and $7 billion by 2025. Dairy products traditionally account for about 40% of Belarusian food exports.
A seminar for processing industry specialists “Classic cheeses - modern approaches” is taking place in Minsk with the support of the Agriculture and Food Ministry. Taking part in it are representatives of 22 Belarusian dairy factories, experienced cheese makers from the EU countries, as well as specialists from the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Butter and Cheese Making.
