Whey processing in Belarus has grown by almost 90%

Oleg Dymar, professor, technical DIRECTOR of the representative office of JSC MEGA in the Republic of Belarus, at the VII International Dairy Business Forum of the EAEU, was devoted to the problems of whey processing.

The share of whey processing in Belarus increased by almost 90% from 2004 to 2020. In particular, in 2004 only 8% of 1 million tons of this product was processed. And in 2020, 97.7% of the 3 million tons of whey was already processed in the country. The remaining 2% of the total volume of this production was directed to livestock feed.

According to Oleg Dymar, 97.7% is a fairly high rate in terms of processing volumes. For example, in Ukraine only 25% of whey produced in the country is processed, in RUSSIA - 35%.

The indicators achieved in Belarus are the result of a profile republican program that has been in place for many years, Oleg Dymar explained.

According to him, in Belarus, interest in whey processing began to grow from the beginning of the 2000s. Then MILK production increased in the country, and the relevant ministry decided to develop cheese production. “And where there is cheese, there is always whey,” the expert recalled.

However, despite the fact that only 2% of whey is not used, its processing technologies are still at a rather low level in Belarus.

“The production of dry whey is the very initial, the first level of technologies for its processing, we have already more or less mastered it. With the introduction, for example, of membrane technologies, it is already more and more difficult for us. And the next level - hydrolysis and isolation of individual groups of proteins - many have not yet heard of it. Can we make products such as baby and sports nutrition without this technology? We can, but at the same time we resemble a monkey with a machine gun. She pulled the trigger, the bullets flew out - and that's it. In this case, the machine gun and cartridges are advanced technologies, in particular, membrane ones,” he said.

Another problem in the industry, according to Oleg Dymar, is the difficulty in training and retraining personnel.

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