Belarusian food exports to Uzbekistan more than doubled in 2020

March 9, MINSK. Belarusian food exports to Uzbekistan more than doubled in 2020, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

Last week, a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation was held in Tashkent. Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus Ivan Krupko met with the Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodzhaev and the leadership of the State Committee for Veterinary Medicine and Livestock Development of Uzbekistan. The parties agreed to expand the range of supplied agricultural products and food, discussed the possibility of processing MEAT and dairy products. The Belarusian side expressed its readiness to share experience in growing Belarusian varieties of SUGAR beets in Uzbekistan for further processing and industrial production of sugar. it was decided to intensify the work of the interdepartmental working group on agriculture and the food industry.

“Today, Uzbekistan and Belarus have established close cooperation in the field of trade in agricultural products, science and agricultural education. In 2020, the turnover of agricultural products and food products exceeded $87 million and increased by 76% compared to 2019, adding about $38 million in monetary terms. The EXPORT of Belarusian food in 2020 more than doubled and reached $73 million. Uzbekistan increased the supply of Belarusian beef by more than 2 times, sugar - by 3.5 times, powdered MILK - by 2 times, fish and fish products - by 1 5 times. Dried and fresh berries and fruits, vegetables, gourds, peanuts and cotton fiber were imported to Belarus from Uzbekistan," the press service said.

The countries are also actively cooperating in the field of animal husbandry, veterinary medicine and crop breeding. In 2020, about 400 HEAD of cattle of Belarusian selection were delivered to Uzbekistan. The plans for the current year are to increase the volume and expand the range of breeding products. For this purpose, the enterprises of the two countries "Belplemzhivobedinenie" and "VostokMedGeruda" have created a joint breeding and genetic center that will be engaged in the purchase and supply of Belarusian pedigree cattle to Uzbekistan, scientific and technological support, and consultations.

The Belarusian enterprise JSC "BelVitunifarm" together with the Samarkand Institute of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine decided to establish a joint venture for the production of veterinary drugs and vaccines in Uzbekistan.

In the Tashkent region, the Research Institute of Vegetable and Melon Crops and Potatoes of Uzbekistan, together with the SPC of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for potato and horticulture, is testing 8 varieties of potatoes and 20 vegetable crops. Also, 45 varieties of vegetables and 6 varieties of Belarusian melons were obtained.

In another promising area - seed production - RO "Belsemena" and the Center for Seed Production of Uzbekistan are actively cooperating. In 2020, samples of seeds of peas, beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes and other crops of Uzbek selection were sent to Belarus for testing. Positive results have been obtained. In addition, the seeds of tomatoes, onions, beets, radishes, carrots, beans of Belarusian selection were successfully grown in the soil and climatic conditions of Uzbekistan.

As for the education sector, joint faculties have been established between the Tashkent State Agrarian University (TashSAU) and the Grodno State Agrarian University in Tashkent and Andijan. From the 2019-2020 academic year, undergraduate students are admitted in the areas of "plant protection and quarantine" and "technology for the storage and processing of animal raw materials." The professorial and teaching staff of TashGAU took advanced training courses at the Mogilev State University of Food.