On September 1, Zhabinka / Olga Kobyak - BELTA /. The potato processing industry will be developed in Belarus. This was stated to journalists today during a working trip to the Brest region by the Prime Minister of Belarus, Sergei Sidorsky, BELTA correspondent reports. "The difference in the cost of potatoes from the field and the processed product is 25 times," the prime minister noted. In this regard, he emphasized that in the following years it is necessary to focus on the production of various potato varieties, oriented towards one or another processing method, and to open own processing enterprises, which will generate more income than the simple sale of tubers. According to Sergei Sidorsky, a lot of work has been done in potato growing over the past six years. If before 2004 this industry was unprofitable, then today Belarus has new potato varieties, as well as a volume that allows not only to meet the country's needs but also to export potatoes. Currently, 51 enterprises are engaged in large-scale potato production, and about 17 enterprises are working with the National Academy of Sciences on seed production issues. In the Brest region, the prime minister visited one of the leading potato growing enterprises in the region, SPC "Agro-Motol" of the Ivanovo district, where a full cycle of potato processing is established - from cultivation to processing. This agricultural enterprise is a base for the production of seed potatoes in its region. -0-

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