Belarus aims for $10bn in food exports
Belarus will aim for $10 billion in food exports, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a solemn ceremony to honor agricultural workers during the Mogilev Oblast Dazhynki harvest festival in Klimovichi on 16 November, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that in the next five-year period the agricultural workers are again expected to perform great feats. It is important to harvest 10.5-11 million tonnes of grain, modernize all livestock complexes and increase milk yields to eight tonnes per cow.
"We will build dairy complexes all over the country in the next five years. We cannot keep a cow in bad conditions. A cow should live in a ‘palace’," the president said.
The head of state believes that cow deserve a monument. Milk saved Belarusians from hunger during the war. Nowadays, dairy products are staples of Belarusians.
Over the next five years, Belarus also intends to build cutting-edge pig farms and streamline the processing of flax. "Flax is the future. Not because it is a symbol of our country or it is featured in our coat of arms. You noticed that prices have started to rise. People tend to opt for natural fabrics. Except for Belarusians. Belarusians are eager to buy Gucci, Versace and other bizarre things. We must support local brands, home-made fabrics. We produce everything. Choose local and teach children to do this," Aleksandr Lukashenko urged.
According to him, it is also important to provide Belarus with home-grown vegetables, fruits and fish at affordable prices, to introduce new crops (soybeans, industrial hemp), original and new products that can be grown in the country due to warming.