Belarus’ agriculture ministry denies shortages of milk, acknowledges problems with tetra pak

There is enough milk in the domestic market, but there are difficulties with tetra pak packaging due to the sanctions, Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister Vadim Shagoiko told the media in Minsk on 4 August, BelTA has learned.

The dairy industry fully meets the domestic demand in milk. "With the production at 7.8 million tonnes of milk last year, we consumed about 3 million tonnes. The rest was exported. This year, the production is increasing. Milk is processed. We produce a wide range of cheeses, butter, whole milk products. We meet the needs of our market by 100%. This is the priority for us," Vadim Shagoiko emphasized.


According to him, in order to avoid interruptions in dairy supplies to the domestic market, the Agriculture and Food Ministry teamed up with the  Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART), regional administrations and the Minsk city authorities. The needs of the regions and Minsk in whole milk products have been determined, a strict supply schedule has been devised. Its implementation is monitored.

Commenting on the speculations about the lack of milk in stores, the deputy minister said: "There is a certain narrowing of the chjoice of dairy products and this problem is related to packaging. There are certain difficulties with tetra pak, but we are working to resolve this issue. Our manufacturers are looking for other suppliers, networking with manufacturers in China and other friendly countries. Currently, we are testing some packing to replace tetra pak and will bring the assortment  back to what we had before the sanctions. In the meantime, Belarusian producers have actively switched to the production of milk in PET bottles, film-based packaging."