MINSK, 11 August (BelTA) – Belarus should rely on its own raw materials to meet domestic needs for malting barley, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he hosted a session to discuss the food industry prospects on 11 August, BelTA has learned.
“As far as malting barley is concerned, you need to set production targets right now. We should not lose money [by importing it]. Come to an agreement on prices, do not push hard. Malting barley is not just any barley. You know how to cultivate it. It is a bit more difficult, but not too much,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The head of state urged to take advantage of good weather now to procure as much malting barley as possible. “Protect the market of malt and beer,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
Following the session, Chairman of the Belarusian state food industry concern Belgospishcheprom Anatoly Buben told reporters that domestic companies have to import a significant amount of malting barley. He believes that the president's instruction will help fully meet the needs for raw materials of the Belsolod company by locally made malting barley as early as next year. “I am sure this will be done,” Anatoly Buben noted.
