BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/09/2005 12:09

From 2006 onwards Belarus will be importing not more than 100,000 t of durum wheat - farm ministry official

From 2006 onwards Belarus is not planning to import more than 100,000 t of durum wheat with gluten content not lower than 28 to 32 percent, Head of Foreign Trade Activities Department of Belarus' Agriculture Ministry Vasily Prudnikov said at a briefing in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to Prudnikov, all the purchases will be tender-based and responsibility over the issue will be held by republican tender commission.

Prudnikov also said that in 2005 Belarus might export up to 300,000 tonnes of winter rye. However, he said, price situation on the market was now not very friendly for this sort of exports, therefore the ministry was considering an option of processing the rye into flour and feeds domestically.

According to information provided by BelTA news agency, in 2004 Belarus imported a total of 628,000 tonnes of food and feed grains, including maize, for the total worth of $114.6 million, while exporting 6,300 tonnes of grains for the worth of $899,000.

Prudnikov estimates the 2005 grain crop in Belarus to reach 7.1 million tonnes, including grain turned out by residing in the countryside individuals, which, to his opinion, will be completely enough to provide the country's food security and will create considerable exportable surplus.

Source:

http://www.agrimarket.info/showart.php?id=28656