Business news

VITEBSK, 15 August (BelTA) - OAO Vitebskkhlebprom will send the first shipment of frozen bread to Russia, chief technologist of the enterprise Olga Pavlyuchenko told BelTA.

The supply contract has been concluded. The first consignment includes more than 10 names of best bakery products of the Vitebsk bakery. The shipment will be made in August.

The Vitebsk bakery arranged a special production area, installed two freezers with a capacity of up to 3 tonnes per day and storage chambers. The company invested Br200,000 in this project.

The technological process does not initially differ from the traditional one. The difference starts at the stage of baking: it is a few minutes shorter than the traditional production method. Half-baked bread is then shock-frozen at minus 35°C. The bread is packaged at temperatures from zero to minus 5°C, and stored at minus 18°C. The period of storage of the frozen product is several months. Frozen bread is transported with temperatures hovering below zero.

This is an export-oriented product. The shelf life is long enough to search for business partners not only in Russia but also in distant countries. Currently the company is exploring the possibilities of exporting frozen bread to the Central Asia states and to Israel.

In January-June OAO Vitebskkhlebprom manufactured the goods worth Br38.3 million, up 6.5% from the same period a year prior. Return on sales is 9.2%. The major sales market is Russia, which accounts for about 10% of the total output. In January-June the Vitebsk company shipped bakery products worth $1.1 million to Russia (up by 36%).

OAO Vitebskkhlebprom unites 2 bakery plants and 2 bakeries in Vitebsk, and affiliates 11 more bakeries. It also operates its own retail network. The company produces a wide assortment of bakery and confectionery products. We also produce soft drinks, extruded bread and fruit wine.