Belarus plans to increase export of dairy products to $4 billion by 2030, Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Aleksei Bogdanov told reporters on the sidelines of the Belarus Dairy Export Forum in Minsk.
In 2020 Belarus exported $2.4 billion worth of dairy products. "We have set a good pace. I think that this year we will add $100 million more in export revenues in the dairy segment," Aleksei Bogdanov added, BelTA reports.
According to him, by 2025 Belarus will ramp up milk production to 9.2 million tonnes. "Taking into account the fact that we fully meet the domestic demand, all additional volumes will be exported. We expect that the export will exceed $3 billion in 2025 and will hit the mark of $4 billion by 2030," the deputy minister said.
In January-August, the export of Belarusian dairy products rose by 6.4%. "We are increasing our presence in all markets. For example, despite all the difficulties, we increased dairy exports to the Russian Federation by 1.6%. But the main growth driver is the Asian region. We see great prospects there. Exports to the Chinese market have been growing very rapidly: the volume skyrocketed by 87%. Traditionally we export powdered, skimmed milk there. Belarusian whey has a great reputation on that market. But we seek to increase supplies of whole milk products, sterilized milk, cheese, cottage cheese, butter," said Aleksei Bogdanov.
According to him, cheese production has been growing rapidly in Belarus. Promotion of these products to foreign markets is one of the most important tasks for commodity producers. "It is important not just to sell goods that someone will finish packaging. We need to install more packaging lines and promote national brands internationally. Moreover, we need to tap faraway markets and to step up the production of hard and superhard cheeses with long shelf lives,” the deputy minister noted.
