MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) - The country is self-sufficient in food and can export it in big volumes, Belarus' Agriculture and Food Minister Igor Brylo said in an interview to BelTA.
“The Belarusian president has clearly outlined the government's position: agriculture, food security and independence are the key priorities for the country. Since 2010, the country has completely solved the issue of food security. Today the country has a good potential in agriculture. We are not only self-sufficient in food, we have also become an export-oriented economy and are ready to sell large volumes of surplus food abroad. I can assure you that there is more than enough food in the country,” said Igor Brylo.
In his words, Belarus is a leader in the EAEU in per capita production of meat and milk. For example, the country produces twice as much meat per capita as Russia and Kazakhstan. In terms of per capita milk production, Belarus is 2.5 times ahead of Kazakhstan, and more than three times ahead of Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
“With the available raw material resources in the country, food production growth in 2021 made up 101.9% in 2021 against 2020. The biggest growth was achieved in the production of meat products, flour, cereals and dairy products,” the minister said.
The domestic demand for meat and dairy products is fully met by domestically produced products. According to Igor Brylo, the level of the country's self-sufficiency is increasing from year to year and is currently at 134.9% for meat and 256% for milk. Production of meat per capita in Belarus exceeds by 38.4% its per capita consumption, milk and dairy products - by 3.4 times.
"Meat and dairy producers are focused on the domestic market. Today, the share of domestic products in retail turnover is as follows: meat and meat products at 99.7%, including pork - 99.99%, beef - 99.2%, poultry meat - 99.95%, edible by-products - 99.8%, canned meat and offal - 95.3%, cheeses - 91.7%, butter - 99.9%," Igor Brylo said.
In 2021 dairy companies affiliated with the ministry processed 6.9 million tonnes of milk (up by 0.9% over 2020) and meat plants processed 547,100 tonnes of cattle in live weight (up by 0.8%).
