Belarus, Tajikistan consider mutual processing of rawhides

Belarus and Tajikistan have found a new area of mutual interest, i.e. to process rawhides. Belarusian specialists are heading for Tajikistan to study the potential of raw materials and the possibility of setting up a joint production facility, head of the Belarusian light industry concern Bellegprom Tatiana Lugina said in another episode of the Effects of Presidential Decisions project on BelTA's YouTube channel.

In her words, light industry is one of the key industries in Tajikistan's development strategy. Tajikistan addressed Belarus with a request to help organize advanced processing of leather raw materials.

“In the near future, two Belarusian specialists will be sent to Tajikistan. They will conduct monitoring there. There is a big volume of leather raw material in Tajikistan - 1,500 cattle per year, their hides can be used as material,” the Bellegprom head said.

However, there is no deep processing of such raw materials in the country. After minimal processing, the hides are sent to China. “Therefore, they are very much interested in launching deep processing in their country. The Tajikistan president spoke about this [at the meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Dushanbe]. We understand that Belarusians have the competence to process leather goods. We have set a short-term goal to examine the kind of skins, their quality, and their thickness. We will see if we can help our counterparts build a business in processing wet-salted hides and making finished leather goods. Perhaps it will come in handy for us to diversify our assortment of finished leather,” said Tatiana Lugina.

“We have taken this topic under consideration for further cooperation and working out a business model, if possible, with our counterparts,” she added.

Speaking about Tajikistan in general, the Bellegprom head emphasized that Belarusian specialists are always welcomed there. In addition, the people of Belarus and Tajikistan, in her opinion, have a number of similarities - they are kind, sincere, hardworking, open for cooperation, and to some extent naive. “The openness, warmth, trustworthiness and diligence of the Tajik people win your heart. Our interest in building a business, cooperating with this country is huge,” Tatiana Lugina said.