18 April, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. All forestry enterprises of the Vitebsk region have started supplying birch sap, Oleg Gritskevich, leading engineer for secondary forest use and subsidiary agriculture of the Vitebsk Regional State Production Forestry Association (RGPKHO), informed a BELTA correspondent.
The collection of birch sap began in the Vitebsk region this week. The Begomlsky, Disnensky, Gluboksky, Orshansky, and Tolochinsky forestry enterprises were the first to start this work. Over the past three days, they have supplied more than 75 tons of the spring drink to the region's enterprises. From April 18, the remaining forestry enterprises of the region will also start supplying sap.
The most active sap collection process is underway in the Gluboksky and Begomlsky forestry enterprises, which intend to collect 350 tons each this spring. Smaller sap supply plans – 100-150 tons each – are set for the remaining RGPKHO forestry enterprises. In total, this year the region's forestry enterprises plan to supply about 2,000 tons of sap, which will be delivered to the processing enterprises of the Vitebsk Regional Union of Consumer Societies, the Vitebsk Pishcheprom State Enterprise, and the Borisov Cannery.
"The duration of sap collection depends on weather conditions, however, according to preliminary calculations and considering the prolonged winter, this spring the collection will last about 20 days," noted Oleg Gritskevich.
He also reminded that individuals can also purchase the sweet drink at any forestry enterprise. The cost of 1 liter ranges from Br800 to Br1,000. One of the first to sell the sweet product to the population of the region was the Vitebsk Forestry Enterprise, which sold 2 tons of sap.-0-