Meat production in Belarus to reach 2m tonnes by 2025

Belarus plans to increase production of meat products to 2m tonnes by 2025 – as stated by Ivan Smilgin, the Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister, the Director of the Department of Veterinary and Food Supervision of the Agriculture and Food Ministry, BelTA reports

At the moment, Belarusian meat and dairy products account for almost 100 percent of those offered for sale in the country. “We successfully ensure Belarus’ food security, producing 835kg of milk per capita at present – which is 3-4 times more than needed. Meat products make 135kg per person, or 34.6 percent higher than the level of consumption. The Agriculture and Food Ministry, also under the Agrarian Business programme, has been tasked to increase meat production to 2m tonnes by 2025. By the end of 2021, this figure stood at 1.8m tonnes,” Mr. Smilgin said.

From January-July 2022, agricultural exports amounted to almost $4.4bn, and the growth exceeded 126 percent against the last year’s figures.

“The geography of sales is growing from year to year. In 2021, Belarus supplied dairy products to 50 countries, and meat was sold to 30 countries. Therefore, despite the sanctions, there are no problems with exports,” Mr. Smilgin informed, adding that Belarusian producers are tasked to ensure the biosafety of domestic livestock facilities, since they account for epizootic well-being, production and export potential.