Business news

MINSK, 19 June (BelTA) – During the session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Belarus and Russia on 19 June Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko noted that the Russian export of agricultural products to Belarus in per capita terms exceeds the Belarusian export of agricultural products to Russia, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko said: “Here is an interesting fact, which may have fallen under the radar. Russia supplies more agricultural products to Belarus per capita than Belarus supplies to Russia. We are accustomed to hearing that Belarus exports a lot. But in per capita terms Russia supplies more to Belarus than Belarus does to Russia. I am not going to specify the figures. Look them up. But the ratio is much larger. Russians feed us more food than we feed Russians.”

State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota informed participants of the meeting about cooperation in agribusiness along several directions. “First, in order to increase the output of import-substituting pedigree products the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry and the Russian Agriculture Ministry are preparing the concept of a program on forming a competitive base of genetic resources as part of the pedigree animal husbandry system of the Union State. Second, the idea of integrating the Belarusian and Russian information systems is being implemented to prevent the manufacturing and trade in falsified and counterfeited products on the Union State food market. Third, a roadmap has been approved to guide cooperation between the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry and the Russian Agriculture Ministry in order to lift mutual restrictive measures on shipments of animal husbandry products in 2018. The provisions the document specifies will have to be implemented,” said the state secretary.