Business news

MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) – Belarus suggests to Russia that a roadmap should be adopted to resolve the milk trade dispute, BelTA learned from Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats.

According to the source, Belarus continues negotiations with Russia with a view to resolving the situation with the delivery of milk and dairy products. A meeting at the level of deputy prime ministers is supposed to take place in Moscow soon to discuss the matter.

Leonid Zayats said: “In order to resolve the dispute, we’ve suggested adopting a roadmap, which will outline Belarus’ stance and take into account views of the Russian Federation. I am convinced that the adoption of the roadmap will lift the ban that prevents our companies from exporting to the Russian market.”

“There is every chance for negotiating and reaching an agreement on the access of our products to the Russian market,” believes the agriculture and food minister.

Plans have been made to arrange a joint session of the boards of the Belarusian and Russian agriculture ministries in March to discuss food trade balance sheets. These balance sheets will later become the underlying documents for deliveries to the Russian market.

Leonid Zayats made it clear that there can be no doubt about the quality of Belarusian milk today. “I can say with confidence that there are no remnants of antibiotics in our products and there can be none. The raw materials supplied by agricultural enterprises to processing ones are subjected to the most rigorous forms of control. The same kind of control is part of the processing routine. Every outgoing batch of end products is examined by labs,” explained the minister.

BelTA reported earlier that the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) postponed the introduction of a ban on milk deliveries from Belarus to 15 March. Initially the Russian agency intended to ban imports from Belarus on 26 February. The initial date was later changed to 6 March.