How the dairy industry is developing in Belarus

Sergey Fedchenko First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus

In 2022, Belarusian agriculture has once again proved its economic efficiency. In addition to providing for the domestic market, a record EXPORT was achieved, as well as increased production in all areas. At the same time, dairy remains the leading and most successful industry. During the Second International Forum "Agricultural Belarus. Dairy Farm", First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus Sergei Fedchenko spoke about how dairy farming worked in 2022 and what plans the processors have for the future.

MILK production results for 2022

As Sergei Fedchenko said, the abnormal climatic conditions of 2021 led to the fact that dairy cattle breeding was significantly affected due to a shortage of concentrated feed, as well as a significant shortage of grass feed. "But thanks to the professionalism of specialists, in 2022 a record high was again achieved in terms of productivity of the dairy herd and gross milk production. Over the past year, 5.52 thousand kg of milk was produced per cow, with a total production volume in the country of 7.6 million tons," - noted the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus.

According to him, over the past 10 years, milk production in the country has increased by more than 25%.

“At present, dairy cattle breeding in Belarus is one of the most efficient branches of agricultural production. At all times, the level of work of managers and specialists of farms has been assessed by the state of affairs in dairy cattle breeding, because milk is the most affordable food product for all categories of the population, ” said representative of the Ministry of Agriculture.

He also said that the leaders in milk production in Belarus are the Brest region, which this year added 8% to production, Grodno (about 7%) and MINSK (about 5%).

How dairy production is being modernized

"In the 70-90s of the XX century, dairy cattle breeding in agricultural organizations developed by increasing the number of cows and a slight increase in their productivity. However, since 2000, the development of the dairy industry has been carried out through intensive methods: improving breeding work, strengthening the forage base and preparing feed for feeding, construction and reconstruction of dairy farms, as well as the introduction of advanced technologies for milk production and rearing of replacement young animals," said Sergey Fedchenko.

Activities aimed at improving the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding and improving milk production technologies through the modernization, reconstruction and construction of dairy farms were carried out in the course of the state program for the revival and development of the village in 2005-2015, the Republican program for the development of the dairy industry in 2010-2015 and the state program for the development of agricultural business in Belarus for 2016-2020.

“These programs ensured a steady increase in milk production, which allows us to meet the needs of the domestic market and consistently increase the export of dairy products. natural, high-quality products from domestic raw materials," the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food stated.

He stressed that everything is being done in Belarus to equip dairy farms. At the same time, our country can independently provide dairy production with high-quality domestic equipment.

Key challenges for the future and focus on youth

“If we talk about the main tasks to be solved in the dairy industry, then among them are the modernization of production, fodder production and a lack of personnel. However, active work is constantly being carried out in all these areas. According to the results of January this year, the indicators decreased by 13% compared to the same level last year," the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food said.

Sergey Fedchenko also paid special attention to young specialists, for whom a special "Youth Gathering" was organized at the forum.

"I want to thank all the young professionals who have chosen this professional industry and are currently living with the problems of cattle breeding. Young people see in the future the main ways to solve the complex problems facing the dairy industry and boldly implement their ideas. Now young professionals are our hope and support" - stressed the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food.

He added that thanks to the harmonious combination of accumulated knowledge and energy, ambitions and a fresh look of young and smart professionals, the development of dairy cattle breeding has a future.

Export

“We have sufficient resources to meet the needs of the domestic market, as well as to carry out export deliveries of products. Belarusian organizations in 2022 supplied food products and agricultural raw materials worth $8.3 billion, which is 24.2% higher than in 2021. Growth foreign exchange earnings amounted to $1.6 billion, the foreign trade balance is positive. The share of exports of food products from agricultural raw materials in the total exports of Belarus amounted to more than 22%," Sergey Fedchenko shared the results.

According to him, the largest share in food exports is traditionally occupied by livestock products and is more than 60%.

"The geography of deliveries of food products and agricultural raw materials includes 100 countries of the world. So, despite the fact that Belarus occupies somewhere 90-95th in terms of population and territory, it is today that it is in the top 5 exporters of dairy products in the world among such countries - giants like the US , New Zealand and the European Union," summed up the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food.

BELTA.