August 8, Minsk /BELTA/. Belarus sells agricultural products worth $11 million daily, reported Minister of Agriculture and Food Leonid Zayats on August 7, in an interview with the "Kontury" program on ONT channel, according to BELTA.
In particular, the head of the ministry drew attention to the fact that each batch of domestic products sold for export brings a substantial income. For example, beef is sold to Russia with a profitability of 21%, yielding a net profit of $684 per tonne. Some types of cheese are sold with a profit of about a thousand dollars (sales profitability - 26-27%). Thus, the agro-industrial complex generates $11 million in foreign currency revenue for the country every day. "That is, we sell products of the agro-industrial complex daily for $11 million," the minister explained.
Speaking about the harvest expected this year, Leonid Zayats noted that Belarus will achieve a grain and pulse crop yield at the 2015 level - approximately 8 million tonnes. Additionally, at least 150,000 tonnes of grain are expected from farmers, and 230,000 tonnes from private farms (a total of about 8.4 million tonnes).
In addition, approximately 1 million 86 thousand tonnes are being stored in state reserves (specialized storage). "This is a strategic reserve that will be used to ensure the food security of the population," the minister remarked. About 6 million 700 thousand tonnes will be used for fodder purposes, for public animal husbandry, and another 750 thousand tonnes of grain will form the seed fund. A portion of the grain can be directed for export. However, Leonid Zayats emphasized that export in this case is not a panacea. "Our main task is to produce high value-added animal husbandry products from this grain, so that it can be sold with the greatest benefit," he said.
Overall, regarding exports, Leonid Zayats also noted that Belarusian products are in demand in other countries, and the country strives to be a consistent player in the food market. Thus, according to the results of the first half of the year, Belarus ranks third in the world in exports of dry whey, third in butter, and fourth in cheese (by quantity sold).