Brylo: the country is fully provided with food and can export it in large volumes

February 25, MINSK. The country is fully provided with food and can EXPORT it in large volumes. This was stated in an interview with a BelTA correspondent by Minister of Agriculture and Food Igor Brylo.

"The President of Belarus clearly outlined the state position: agriculture, our food security and independence are the most important priorities for the country. Since 2010, the problem of food security has been completely solved in the country. Today, our country has a good potential in the agricultural sector. , but also entered an export-oriented economy, are ready to offer large amounts of surplus food for sale abroad. And I dare to assure you that the products produced are more than enough," said Igor Brylo.

He noted that Belarus is the leader in the EAEU in per capita production of MEAT and MILK. For example, twice as much meat is produced per inhabitant of the country than in RUSSIA and Kazakhstan. In terms of milk production per capita, Belarus is 2.5 times ahead of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia - more than 3 times.

The demand of the country's population for meat and dairy products is fully met by domestic products. According to Igor Brylo, the level of self-sufficiency of the country increases from year to year and amounts to 134.9% for meat and 256% for milk. Meat production per capita in Belarus exceeds its average per capita consumption by 38.4%, milk and dairy products - by 3.4 times.

"Organizations producing dairy and meat products are focused on the priority supply of their products to the domestic market. Today, the share of sales of domestic products in retail turnover is: meat and meat products - 99.7%, including pork - 99.99%, beef - 99.2%, poultry meat - 99.95%, edible offal - 99.8%, canned meat and offal - 95.3%, cheese - 91.7%, butter - 99.9%, - drew the attention of Igor Brylo.

Dairy processing organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food in 2021 processed 6.9 million tons of milk (100.9% by 2020). At the meat-packing plants of the ministry's system, 547.1 thousand tons of live weight (100.8%) were processed last year. Manufactured products are shipped according to submitted orders under direct supply contracts.

"In order to ensure the utilization of the capacities of processing organizations and to maximize the production of sausages, prepared and canned meat products, work has been organized and carried out to attract raw materials from outside the country, including within the framework of the tariff quotas allocated by the decision of the EEC Board. The measures taken make it possible to ensure the need of the domestic market for meat and dairy products in full and in sufficient assortment in accordance with the applications of trading organizations," the minister concluded.

*** The full text of the interview will be published on the news feed and posted on the BELTA website.