Belarus expects agricultural exports to increase 43% to $6 bln in 2017
MINSK. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Belarus will export agricultural goods and foodstuffs worth around $6 billion in 2017, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy forecasts.
"We should be going towards $6 billion for exports," Rusy said in an interview with Belarusian TV channel STV.
Belarus exported agricultural goods and foodstuffs worth $4.2 billion in 2016 meaning that exports could grow 43% this year.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that China is a promising sales market for Belarusian produce. Belarus was able to certify a relatively large number of dairy and meat firms for shipments to the Chinese market in a very short space of time. "The first shipments have already set off. Now a $20 million contract has been signed to supply beef and an agreement for poultry is in the works," he said.
According to Rusy, the profitability of shipments to China is "no worse than other markets."
The Deputy Prime Minister also said that "Russia has started working a little differently with us." In particular "there is a serious interest of serious networks, serious groups of companies which have big distribution networks for supplying dairy, meat and vegetable products." "Because they saw that there is storage, there is the possibility of working according to a schedule rather than seasonally. Rhythmically, all year round," he said.
Rusy also said that exports of vegetables were performing well. "We have now started to work very well with our Russian colleagues, with Southern regions. They sow early potatoes, very early and use their seeds. Then there is reseeding. They have no way of storing the seeds already. So at this time in May we will send ours," the Deputy Prime Minister said. "We have rather a large volume of such deliveries at a rather good price," he said.