Belarus satisfies a considerable part of Russia’s demand for milk, Member of the Board (Minister) for Industry and Agribusiness of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Sergei Sidorsky said.
He noted that Russia was able to meet as much as 82% of its domestic demand for milk.
“This is the lowest among the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). In Belarus, for instance, the domestic supply of milk exceeds the demand by 150% (708 kg per capita, while the average in the EEU is 250 kg),” Sergei Sidorsky stressed.
The output of milk in Russia is projected to go up by 0.6% in 2017. Taking into account the supplies from Belarus, some 96% of the demand for milk on the Russian market will be satisfied, Sergei Sidorsky noted. In general, the milk output in the EEU is projected to reach 46.5 million tons in 2017. The milk exports to third countries are expected to total 633,000 tons. The mutual trade will increase to 5.2 million tons, while the imports will go down to 2.5 million tons. Sergei Sidorsky emphasized that the countries of the EEU are still facing the following issues that impede the development of dairy farming: a long investment payback period, seasonal price fluctuations, high dependency on imported equipment, and the need to develop genetics using innovative methods. (BelTA/Business World Magazine)