MINSK, 26 August (BelTA) - The annual market demand for vegetables in population is about 300,000 tonnes, head of the department of trade and public catering of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Mikhail Zhigalo said at the press conference “Ensuring Food Security of the Population: Production and Processing of Berries, Mushrooms, Fruit and Vegetables”, BelTA has learned.
“According to our estimates, the annual need in vegetables for sale to the population through all sales channels is about 300,000 tonnes, which less than 50% of the total output of domestic agricultural organizations and farms. In fact, Belarusians consume much less than produce. There are certain point nuances depending on the commodity position: beets, potatoes or other commodities. In general, the overall picture looks like this,” said Mikhail Zhigalo.
According to him, in H1 2021, on the background of the growth of fresh vegetables and mushrooms sales by 1.9%, the share of domestic fruit and vegetable products sales also increased by 2%, which favorably influences the food security. “We are gradually and systematically increasing and selling only domestic fruit and vegetable products to our population. In particular, the sale of potatoes increased by 16.4%, white cabbage - by 5.7%, tomatoes - by 5.5%. Products from a wide range of Belarusian producers, including farms, are available in the retail trade,” the head of the department said.
As for prices, the expert said that this topic is quite debatable, because the market of fruit and vegetable products is quite complex. “There is an extremely high volatility, which depends on many factors, both internal (production volumes, crop yields) and external (growth of world food prices, imported inflation, etc.). In this regard, the ministry has taken certain measures over the past two years. As for today, fruit and vegetable products are subject to price regulation - both by the resolution of MART and the resolution of the Council of Ministers. There is also a mechanism of establishing stabilization funds, which serves as a lever to reduce this volatility,” Mikhail Zhigalo said.
