Business news

11 Oct 2021

Belarus expects to grow food export to Russia’s Primorsky Krai manifold

An archive photo

MINSK, 11 October (BelTA) – Belarus expects to increase the export of foodstuffs to Primorsky Krai of the Russian Federation manifold, Belarus’ Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Aleksei Bogdanov told the YouTube channel Glavny. Tur, BelTA has learned.

The deputy minister recently returned from Vladivostok that hosted the Days of the Republic of Belarus in the Primorsky Krai during a week. Municipal, agricultural and construction vehicles were displayed on the main square of Vladivostok. The festival also included a cultural program and sports events. Food manufacturers were represented by 11 domestic enterprises, including confectionery, milk processing, meat processing plants.

“Every day there were long queues for our products, even on weekdays. Belarusian sellers were afraid of running out of products before the end of the fair,” the deputy minister said.

Visitors were offered to taste products and make up their mind what they liked the most and then look for their favorites in stores.

Aleksei Bogdanov noted that the export to Primorsky Krai is profitable for Belarus despite the huge distance. Moreover, for quite a while Belarus has been shipping its products to other Far Eastern regions of Russia, including Sakhalin and Kamchatka.

According to Aleksei Bogdanov, a business forum was held on the sidelines of the festival in Vladivostok. Retail chains were very enthusiastic about increasing the purchase of Belarusian products. “Additional negotiations were held to discuss a possibility to expand the assortment of supplied products. We see today that our supplies to this Far Eastern region will grow exponentially, because residents of Vladivostok really liked our products,” he said.

The deputy minister cited specific figures. According to him, last year the export of foodstuffs to this region grew by 63%; more than $2.1 million worth of foodstuffs were exported. Just over eight months this year the export of food products rose by 34% to reach $2 billion so far.

Aleksei Bogdanov said that sometimes it comes to the point when domestic enterprises cannot meet all requests and sharply increase the volume of supplies. “There are simply not enough products. Many dairy and meat enterprises sell products a month in advance on pre-orders. Today we need to boost the production of raw materials. This will enable us to grow the output and deliveries of finished products,” he said.