Business news

9 Mar 2021

Belarus doubles food export to Uzbekistan in 2020

Photo courtesy of the press service of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry

MINSK, 9 March (BelTA) – Belarus’ export of food products to Uzbekistan increased more than twofold in 2020, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.

Last week, Tashkent hosted a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation. Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Ivan Krupko met with Uzbekistan’s Minister of Agriculture Jamshid Khodjaev and top officials of the state committee of veterinary medicine and livestock development of Uzbekistan. The parties decided to expand the range of agricultural and food exports and looked into ways to arrange processing of meat and dairy products. The Belarusian party expressed readiness to share experience in growing Belarusian varieties of sugar beet for processing and industrial manufacturing of sugar in Uzbekistan. The parties decided to step up activities of the interdepartmental working group on agriculture and the food industry.

“Uzbekistan and Belarus have established close cooperation in trade in agricultural products, science, and agricultural education. In 2020, the trade in agricultural and food products exceeded $87 million, up by about $38 billion or 76% over 2019. Belarus’ food export to Uzbekistan more than doubled and reached $73 million. Supplies of beef soared more than 2 times, sugar – 3.5 times, milk powder – 2 times, fish and fish products – 1.5 times. Belarus’ imports from Uzbekistan included dried and fresh fruit, berries, vegetables, gourds, peanuts, and cotton fiber,” the press service said.

Belarus and Uzbekistan actively cooperate in husbandry, veterinary medicine, and crop breeding. In 2020, Uzbekistan received about 400 head of cattle of Belarusian breeds. Plans for 2021 provide for increasing supplies and expanding the range of pedigree stock. To achieve this, Belarus’ Belplemzhivobedinenie and Uzbekistan’s Vostok-MedGeruda established a joint genetic selection center that will buy and ship Belarusian pedigree stock to Uzbekistan, provide scientific and technological support, and give consultations.

The Belarusian enterprise BelVitunipharm in association with the Samarkand Institute of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine decided to set up a joint enterprise to produce veterinary medicines and vaccines in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan’s Research Institute of Vegetable, Melon Crops and Potato in cooperation with the Research Center for Potato, Fruit and Vegetable Growing of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus are testing eight potato varieties and 20 vegetable crops in Tashkent Oblast. The institutes have also received 45 Belarusian vegetable varieties and six Belarusian melon varieties.

Another promising cooperation area is seed production. Belarus’ Belsemena and Uzbekistan’s Seed Production Center work together in this field. In 2020, Belarus received samples of seeds of peas, beans, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and other crops of Uzbekistan’s breeds for testing. The results were positive. In addition, Belarusian varieties of seeds of tomatoes, onions, beets, radishes, carrots, and beans were successfully grown in Uzbekistan.

As for education, Tashkent State Agrarian University and Grodno State Agrarian University founded joint faculties in Uzbekistan’s Tashkent and Andijan. The faculties admitted their first students in the academic year of 2019-2020. It offers two majors: plant protection and quarantine and the technology of storing and processing raw materials of animal origin. Teachers of Tashkent State Agrarian University underwent advanced training at the Mogilev State University of Food Technologies.