MINSK, 24 March (BelTA) - Belarus' demand for cereals, meat and dairy products is fully met, the Agriculture and Food Ministry told BelTA.
“Belarus is self-sufficient in dairy and meat products. The country's meat and dairy sectors produce a wide range of high-quality products. The level of self-sufficiency is 135.2% for meat and meat products, and 235.1% for dairy products,” the press service said.
In January-February 2020, the companies affiliated with the Agriculture and Food Ministry reported a 7.6% increase in the milk processing output and 8.6% in the meat processing output as against the same period a year earlier. Cheese production rose by 13.6%, that of butter by 6%, whole milk products by 6.6%, canned milk by 18%, meat and by-products by 8.4%, including pork by 13.1%, canned meat by 2.6%. “Should the need arise the production of canned goods can be doubled,” the ministry said.
There are reserve capacities that can be used to ramp up the processing of livestock raw materials. Supplies to retail are made on the basis of contracts. In January-February 2020, the sale of meat and meat products in Belarus went up by 3%, that of deli meats by 5%, animal oil by 13% and whole milk products by 1%. The processing companies have sufficient stocks of staples: meat (beef, pork), canned meat, animal oil and canned dairy products.
In order to meet the increased domestic demand for socially important goods, companies have stepped up the production of cereals by 15%, or 1,200 tonnes (up to 9,000 tonnes) in January-February 2020. “As of 24 March, there were enough stocks of flour and cereals to meet the domestic bakery demand until the new harvest of 2020,” the press service said.
