Will it be Possible for Belarus to Feed Europe?

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Production makes every effort to break into the EU market and to introduce Europeans to Belarusian food and beverage products. The EU Commission will be able to inspect some domestic agro-industrial enterprises before the end of 2008, stated the first deputy minister of agriculture and the foodstuffs, Nadezhda Kotkovets, at a press conference on July, 9th.

Currently there are only five enterprises in question, but, in the opinion of the Ministry, all Belarusian meat-packing plants and dairies deserve to export their products to Europe as they have all the necessary international certificates of conformity.

"The arrival of the EU Commission, is a development that will make us extremely happy", - the Deputy Minister said. However, relevant documents were submitted to agricultural management division of the EU five years ago. According to N. Kotkovets, the Belarusian representation in Brussels regularly sends diplomatic letters of invitation to visit Belarus and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador are involved in this question. However, the EU Commission has been in no great hurry to visit Belarus. "We regularly receive letters from Brussels to the effect that the materials are under review and Commission representatives may soon arrive", - she said.

Meanwhile, minimal amounts of Belarusian products enter the European market via circuitous routes. In particular, through the free economic zones of Russia or as “technical products” (for example, casein and dried milk). «But we are certain that it meets all requirements», noted N.Kotkovets.

According to the deputy minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Production now faces “a different kind of problem”: it is profitable to sell production for export. Volumes of deliveries of foodstuffs abroad grow, and the quantity of the countries has increased by 33 times. For the first time last year the volume of agricultural exports exceeded 1 billion dollars, and this year we face the challenge of reaching 1.5 billion dollars.

Nadezhda Kotkovets believes that "it is not always necessary to be guided by Russia". She observed that the eastern neighbour acts correctly by sending its inspectors to Belarusian meat and dairy enterprises: "This is normal international practice and there is nothing to be afraid of. On the contrary, we must ensure that our products are inspected as this will confirm its high quality ".

According to economist Leonid Zlotnikov, Belarusian products are not alone in waiting to access the European market despite being of high enough quality. The slowness of the EU Commission can be explained by internal factors. “In respect of overproduction, there is a tough fight for market quotas between farmers of the EU countries. This struggle has intensified since Poland and the Baltic states joined the EU in 2004 as they also produce a lot of food”, the expert stated in an interview with " Belarus news”. By subsidising farmers, the EU gives them the ability to deliver products to foreign markets at below cost price, thus protecting the internal European market from a glut. Grants to agriculture on 1 hectare of farmland reach 1 thousand dollars.

In Mr Zlotnikov's opinion it is too early for Belarus to pursue the question of foodstuff exports to the European market, except for grain and some other arable products. Our country's production costs are substantially higher than those in Europe, especially in respect of livestock, and this will make it hard for Belarusian products to compete. This would require increased subsidies for agriculture (now standing at about 200 dollars per hectare of farmland) and selling products at below cost, as already takes place in the case of some Belarusian basic commodity goods — to Russia.

Though as a whole Belarus is well placed for export of agricultural products, this will only be practical after agricultural production efficiency is substantially raised, believes L. Zlotnikov.

Famine will not occur

Our country is not threatened by a food crisis, believes the Deputy Minister Nadezhda Kotkovets. To ensure the food security of the country, it is annually necessary to produce a minimum of 5-6 million tons of grain. In recent years we have steadily received more than 6 million tons, and last year harvested more than 7 million tons, she said: "We are already close to the optimal rate of production, which amounts to 8-9 million tons of grain. I think we are nearing the time when agricultural organisations will reach that level ". And in the longer term there are plans to increase grain production to 10 million tons a year.

In addition, last year's potato harvest gathered around 9 million tons, much more than the minimum needed to ensure food security. A similar situation exists regarding other products: meat, milk and fish, assured the first deputy minister.

There is steady demand in Belarus for locally produced goods, reported the head of the organization of consumer market food products of the Ministry of Trade, Ljubov Yazepchik. This is proven by Ministryof Trade data, according to which the share of Belarusian goods in the first r 5 months of 2008 amounted to 84,7%. "We fully provide the requirements of the people via their own products.But some imports are present - she lamented - Because of the geographical position of the country, we have no seafood, vegetable oil, tea, coffee and so forth. These products are imported and will continue to be imported ".

Over the past eight years the proportion of food products in retail trade indexes fell from 61% to 52%. This suggests that the population has become more affluent and can afford to buy more than just food, opined L. Yazepchik.

The world food crisis is, in general terms, not present, the vice-president of presidium of National academy of sciences of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov considers.This problem is a little far fetched. The situation has not seriously changed recently: "In former times around 1 billion people were starving, and another was the so-called "golden billion", which accounted for a surplus of products". In his view, recently this issue has simply become more political.

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