MINSK, 2 December (BelTA) – We associate our successes in agriculture with the use of Belarusian farm machines, Governor of Russia's Astrakhan Oblast Igor Babushkin said at a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 2 December, BelTA has learned.
Astrakhan Oblast is committed to developing the agricultural sector. The region is famous for its fruit and vegetable products. “We are the leader among Russian regions on this front. We are still dubbed the Russian vegetable garden',” the governor said. “Our farmers heavily rely on the farm machines that you produce. We associate our successes in agriculture with the use of these machines."
In this regard, Igor Babushkin also mentioned plans to open a trade and maintenance center of Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ trademark) in Astrakhan. "For us, this is also very important, as this may lead to an even greater cooperation," he added.
In January-September of this the trade between Belarus and Russia's Astrakhan Oblast amounted to $23.1 million, up by almost 29% year-on-year. Belarus' exports totaled $4.7 million. Those were mainly chipboard, household equipment, machines, lifting, moving, loading and unloading equipment, wool, and construction parts made of plastics. In January-September the export of bleached paper and cardboard rose by 11.7 times year-on-year.
Belarus' major imports from Russia's Astrakhan Oblast were mainly sulfur, fish, specific goods, wool, tomatoes, caviar, melons and watermelons, various vegetables. In January-September this year imports made up $18.4 million.
There is a dealer network of Belarusian machine-building enterprises in the region, including MAZ, MTZ, Gomselmash, Bobruiskagromash, and AMKODOR. Work is underway to set up a trade and maintenance center MTZ, which is to go online in 2022.
