The Vitebsk Meat and Dairy Products Concern will invest over Br200 million in fixed assets in 2018, as reported to BelTA by the association's Director General, Viktor Slavyetsky.
The Vitebsk Meat and Dairy Products Concern will invest over Br200 million in fixed assets in 2018, as reported to BelTA by the association's Director General, Viktor Slavyetsky.
In accordance with the developed program, almost 85% of the investments will be directed towards the development of agricultural branches of the concern's processing enterprises. "Currently, raw materials and the added value generated from them are of paramount importance, therefore, priority is given to the development of raw material zones and related production facilities," emphasized Viktor Slavyetsky. To this end, the region plans to construct eight dairy farms, each capable of housing a milking herd of 2,000 head with a full complement of young stock, producing over 50 tons of milk per day. The construction of pig breeding complexes for 5,000 sows is also planned, which will produce 150,000 piglets annually, thereby ensuring the needs of almost all the region's pig farming operations.
Viktor Slavyetsky noted that the concern's agricultural enterprises currently encompass 232,000 hectares of arable land. However, without investment in the development of this sector, the desired effect will not be achieved. "Therefore, next year, €44 million will be invested in the re-equipment of the technical fleet (it is planned to purchase tractors, trailed, grain harvesting, and forage harvesting machinery). Investments will also be directed towards the acquisition of plant protection products, mineral and organic fertilizers, and staff training. 'Ensuring professional staff is of paramount importance to us, as the modern machinery being acquired for the farms requires a higher level of knowledge from tractor drivers. Furthermore, it must be utilized efficiently to yield returns'," stressed the Director General.
Regarding the upgrade of processing enterprises, Viktor Slavyetsky noted that the largest projects involve production modernization and the construction of a slaughterhouse at OJSC "Orsha Meat Canning Plant", modernization of OJSC "Orsha Dairy Plant", technical re-equipment of OJSC "Orsha Grain Products Plant", and the construction of feed mills at OJSC "Vitebsk Meat Packing Plant" and in Miory. At the same time, the re-equipment of the concern's dairy enterprises is practically complete: their capacities allow for the processing of 1.2 million tons of milk per year and 155 thousand tons of meat. This is sufficient, and the range of products manufactured is already very wide, added the General Director.
The State Association "Vitebsk Concern "Meat and Dairy Products" is one of the largest companies in Belarus for the production of meat and dairy products, flour and groats, compound feeds, premixes, and canned fish. The association's structure includes 8 dairy processing enterprises, 4 meat processing plants, 5 grain processing enterprises, 40 agricultural organizations, 3 service organizations, a building materials plant, and a retail network represented by OJSC "Trading House "Vitebsk" (Minsk) and OJSC "Vitebskiye Produkty" (Vitebsk).