MINSK, 7 February (BelTA) - Belarus plans to increase food exports up to $5.7 billion in 2019, Aleksei Bogdanov, Head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, told the media, BelTA has learned.
“If the market trends are advantageous and if the weather is good for crops, we will increase food exports up to $5.7 billion in 2019, which will be up by 8.6% over 2018. This plan is ambitious but not impossible,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.
Belarus will continue to implement the export diversification program in 2019. “We are analyzing the development of agricultural industries in the EAEU member states and see that each country tries to produce more food products and to invest more in this industry. This is why we are actively exploring other markets. The CIS countries will be our number one market because of logistics and similar preferences. Then go the markets of Australia and Oceania where we intend to build our presence. Another important market for us is the Persian Gulf countries which are rich in oil but are not food sufficient. Next come the countries of Africa, the EU, and America. We intend to both step up the volumes and increase the processing level in order to sell more finished goods with maximum added value. We will work to promote the Made in Belarus brand not only in Russia, in the EAEU and the CIS but also in distant countries,” Aleksei Bogdanov said.
