By Ilona Krasutskaya: The President has received reports on the preliminary results of the harvest campaign 2017. The reports were presented by Minister of Agriculture Leonid Zayats and Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy who is in charge of the agrarian issue in the government.
According to the reports, there are still 4% of the fields, i.e. 91,000 hectares, to be harvested - primarily in the northern regions. 7,361,000 tons of grain have already been threshed. The yield exceeded last year's by 2 centners and amounted to 35.7 centners per hectare. In total, the harvest – including rapeseed and corn – is expected to reach 10 million tons.
Experts points out that the current harvest of grain is one of the best in the last 20 years. Some farms in Mogilev, Grodno and Minsk regions have reached the yield of over 100 centners.
This is quite impressive considering the weather this year. In Australia, for example, massive fires destroyed a large portion of grain. The damage from the drought in Serbia is estimated to be 600 million euros.
In the last five years alone, the government invested more than 8 billion dollars in the agro-industrial complex. The return on it is nearly 3 times bigger – 27 billion dollars. From every ton of cheese and butter, Belarus gets 1,000 dollars of profits. Now, Belarus has the opportunity to export around 1 million tons of grain. However, the country’s priority is to ensure food security of its people. Therefore, it plans to export products with high added value.
Meanwhile, in Vitebsk Region, selective sowing of winter cereals has begun. At the same time, flax is being harvested, too. Belarus is among the top five world leaders in the production of flax fiber.
This year, the yield in potato harvest – the country’s "second bread" – is 317 centners per hectare. The country plans to export 300 thousand tons of potatoes.
Also, Belarus has enjoyed a good harvest of cabbage, carrots, and sugar beets. The harvest is expected to reach 5 million tons. The first agricultural fairs will be held in two weeks.
Belarus remains one of the leading food producers in the world. This is the result of a large-scale modernization of the sector. Today, Belarus meets the needs both of its own and of foreign markets. Buyers from around the world – from China to the US – are familiar with the brand "Made in Belarus". All this is both the result of painstaking work and a great incentive to continue to work efficiently. After all, the image of the country depends on the quality of its products.
