MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) – Belarus’ domestic demand for meat, dairy, flour and cereal products is met fully, the press service of the Agriculture and Food Ministry told BelTA.
"The domestic demand for processed products from milk and meat is fully satisfied by local producers. The country’s meat and dairy industry produce a wide range of high-quality goods. Goods are supplied to retail on the basis of contracts, in accordance with demand," the press service said.
The share of domestic products in retail is as follows: cheese - 91.5%; butter – 99.9%; meat and meat products - 99.7%, including pork - 99.98%, beef - 99%, poultry meat - 99.9%, edible by-products - 99.8%, canned meat - 95.8%; pasta - 65%; flour - 94.6%; oatmeal and cereals – 93%.
In January 2022 the companies affiliated with the Agriculture and Food Ministry increased processing of milk by 1.9%, livestock by 9.4%. The output of tallow oil by 4%, that of fatty cheeses – by 6%, including hard and semi-hard cheeses – by 4.1%, whole milk products – by 3.5%, whole milk powder – by 49.2%, beef – by 116.5%, sausages – by 4.6%, meat semi-finished products – by 31.6%, canned meat – by 6.8%.
“The processing enterprises process livestock raw materials in full. There are reserves of production capacities, so if necessary, the output can be increased,” the press service said.
The processing enterprises have a sufficient supply of staples: meat (beef, pork), canned meat, butter, canned milk. In March 2022, their volumes were as follows: butter – 3,200 tonnes (or 2.2 times more than the monthly needs of the domestic consumer market), cheese – 5,500 tonnes (2.2 times more), canned milk - 2.9 million cans (143.2% of monthly demand), dry milk formula for baby food – 1,012.000 tonnes (double the monthly supply), beef – 3,400 tonnes (four times more) and other products.
The volume of flour and cereals is also sufficient to meet the domestic demand market until the new harvest in 2022, the ministry stressed.
According to the European Commission, in January-December 2021 Belarus ranked third among the exporters of butter (after New Zealand and the EU) and third among the exporters of condensed milk (after the EU and Malaysia), third position in the export of whey powder and whey-based products (after the EU and the US), fourth position in the export of cheese (after the EU, USA, New Zealand), fifth position in the export of skimmed milk powder (after the USA, EU, New Zealand, and Australia).