Belarus to ship products to Vietnam via Russia due to sanctions

MINSK. April 4 (Interfax) - Belarus is rethinking the logistics of exports to Vietnam due to restrictions imposed by sanctions, and plans to use Russian ports and railways for this purpose, the Belarusian ambassador to Vietnam, Vladimir Borovikov said.

"I don't currently see any big obstacles to increasing trade and economic ties between Belarus and Vietnam, to their further development. All logistics arrangements are already being calibrated for the current conditions. We're proceeding from the ports of the Russian Federation. The use of railway transport along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway with delivery through China is not being ruled out. Arrangements using local currencies have already been tested as a means of payment for goods and services," Borovikov said on TV channel STV on Sunday.

Belarus is developing two pilot projects in Vietnam. "We have two pilot projects, our MAZ Asia and the creation of a dairy business in Hung Yen province to produce dairy products using Belarusian technologies and from Belarusian raw materials," Borovikov said.

"In addition, we can offer Vietnamese partners an expanded line of tractor equipment. Our new 65 horsepower Belarus-541 rice tractor has already been certified and has undergone testing in Vietnam. This model has even already been tested out in field conditions," the ambassador said.

Vietnam is also showing interest in setting up production of fire-fighting equipment and protective clothing for fire services using Belarusian technologies, but exports of food products have the greatest potential, he said.

"An all-out effort to get our dairy products access to Vietnam began in 2020, after going through all the stages of approval and certification of our products here. Belarusian dairy products are enjoying steady success. In general, exports of Belarusian food products are the most promising area for us. We are now working on certifying our meat, pork and beef. I believe and hope that we'll conclude this work this year, which will make it possible to export our meat to the Vietnamese market," Borovikov said.