MINSK, 29 October (BelTA) – In January-August 2019, Belarus' exports of agricultural produce and food products went up 3.2% year-on-year, Aleksei Bogdanov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry told the media on the sidelines of the fourth export forum highlighting Belarus' meat industry, BelTA has learned.
“In January-August 2019, we exported food products worth $3.5 billion. This is up 3.2% from the same period last year. Dairy products were the major driver behind the growth. Their supplies exceeded $2 billion. The geography of exports is expanding. This year we got 13 new markets, including Cote d'Ivoire, Benin and Thailand,” said Aleksei Bogdanov.
In January-August 2019, agricultural products and foodstuffs accounted for 16.1% of Belarus' total exports to increase by 0.9% compared to the same period in 2018. Meat and dairy products accounted for 59.6% of the exports, and their share increased by 1.7% compared to January-August 2018. Currency proceeds from the export of meat and dairy products amounted to $2.085 billion (106.2% against the corresponding period of 2018), including $1.5 billion (114.3%) from milk and dairy products and $580 million (89.8%) from meat and meat products.
The exports of milk and milk products (in terms of milk) grew by 3.2% from January-August 2018 (by 90,100 tonnes), gelatin - by 19.3% (by 200 tonnes), eggs - by 18.9% (80.2 million eggs), rapeseed oil - by 36.6% (48,500 tonnes).
This year's task is to increase food exports by 8.6% from 2018 to reach $5.7 billion. “This is a difficult task. We have little time. If we address meat supply issues with our main trade and economic partner (Russia), there is a chance to reach the figure,” he said. “As for 2020, we have a basic exports forecast ($6.2 billion) and a favorable one ($7 billion). The result will depend on the state of the market.”
