Valentina Bogatyreva. Photo courtesy of vsu.by
MINSK, 16 January (BelTA) - Belarus and Russia reliably ensure food safety of the Union State, Valentina Bogatyreva, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Rector of Masherov Vitebsk State University, told BelTA.
"It should be noted that Russia is the most important partner for Belarus in terms of development of the domestic agro-industrial complex. Both countries have approved the concept of the Common Agricultural Policy within the Union State. Agriculture is one of the strategic industries of the two countries. Belarus-Russia trade is the basis for strengthening food safety of the Union State, with more than a half of Belarusian exports going to the Russian market. Our food products are popular with Russian consumers," she stated.
Valentina Bogatyreva recalled that Belarus is self-sufficient in the main food groups. "Thanks to the comprehensive modernization and technical re-equipment of the agricultural sector, labor productivity in the industry has increased more than 19 times. We have reached the highest level of food self-sufficiency in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of 96%. It is much higher for some food groups: 266.9% - for dairy products, 220% - vegetable oil, 141% - sugar, 133.2% - meat, 125.6% - eggs, 112.3% - potatoes,” she added.
She also highlighted that the Union State made significant progress towards economic sovereignty due to import substitution measures.
"The declared intentions of Minsk and Moscow to produce goods based on the new technologies of both countries form the real basis for our safety and security. This process concerns the most diverse sectors: biology, space, machinery, microelectronics and so on. Both governments have agreed on 16 import-substitution projects worth $800 million, including, for example, a program for the development of civil aircraft construction," Valentina Bogatyreva said.
