In 2020 the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) sold 125,000 tonnes of raw cow’s milk which represents a nine-fold increase over last year. Raw milk, oilseed meals, and feed additives were the most popular agricultural products at BUCE.
Representatives believe that selling raw milk via the exchange is a great way to further development in 2021. The press services noted that “The first trading sessions in January were quite robust”.
Belarusian Dairy Sector
The country is focusing on developing the food sector as a part of the social and economic development programs for 2021-2025. Belarus’ GDP is projected to grow by 21.5% by 2025 as Belarus’ Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov claims. In January-October 2020, food production in Belarus went up 3.6% from the same period in 2019. In January-October 2020, dairy output increased by 6%, including whole milk products – by 5.8%, butter – by 3.7%, cheese (except for processed cheese) – by 10.5%, curds, and cottage cheese products – by 5.2%, milk powder and cream – 6.7%, condensed milk, and cream – 27.4%. The production of meat and meat products was up 5.5% in January-October,” the ministry adds.
Export of Belarusian Dairy Products
In January-November 2020, the export of Belarusian agricultural products and foodstuffs rose by 4.9% year-on-year. For whey powder, the increase was on the level of 23.9%. For the cream, condensed milk, and WMP the outcome was respectively 19.7%, 23.4%, 16.4%.
It is claimed that the export of Belarusian dairy products might approach $4 billion by 2030. This might be a bold statement, yet over the past five years, the export of dairy products has grown by 34%, or by $600 million. In 2019, it amounted to $2.3 billion (up 15% year-on-year).
