An agro-industrial enterprise for the production of Danish bacon pork will appear in the Tolochin district

The foreign limited liability company "BelDan" plans to allocate about 20 million euros in 2016-2017 for the creation of an agro-industrial enterprise for the production of Danish bacon pork in the Tolochin district. According to the project, which began implementation in 2015, the investor is preparing to launch the first two buildings intended for livestock housing in October and start production activities.

The enterprise will be based on a large livestock complex with an annual capacity of 6 thousand tons of live weight meat. Crop production on a designated land plot of 3 thousand hectares, compound feed production, and a number of other related activities are also planned here. As told to "Vitebskiye Vesti" by Jonas Jensen, the enterprise manager, after the October launch, it will take about another 9-10 months to complete construction and fully commission the high-tech facility.

– When we talk about the innovativeness of the project, we mean the application of modern high-performance technological solutions in construction, engineering systems, and the creation of an environment for animals, which ultimately allows us to obtain first-category bacon meat, – explained Jonas Jensen. It is important that along with almost two dozen European companies, a group of domestic producers of goods and services also participates in the supply of equipment and materials for the construction, with the Belarusian share exceeding 60% of the project cost.

The Danish breeding program "DanAvl" genetic material is planned to be used here. This involves three-breed crossing (Yorkshire-Landrace-Duroc), where purebred breeding animals produce F1 hybrids, and these, in turn, produce livestock for commercial meat breeding. All processes at the livestock complex are planned to be fully automated. Slightly more than 20 specialists will be required for its direct maintenance – these will be high-tech workers.

places. The geography of the final product's (lean bacon pork) supply primarily includes Customs Union countries and far abroad; if there is demand, the meat will also be sold on the domestic market.

Special attention is paid to environmental issues during the project's implementation. According to the manager, the environmental safety project complies with Belarusian and international standards, as confirmed by the conclusions obtained, including from European Union experts. The involvement of foreign funding is indicative in this regard. In the summer of the current year, BelDan signed an agreement with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) to open a credit line for the investment project. According to official information, this international financial organization, founded in 1990 by five Nordic countries, provides loans and investment capital to improve the environmental condition of the northern region and finances environmental projects in various areas in Central and Eastern European countries. In its activities, the corporation prioritizes economically viable projects that provide a regional environmental protection effect. According to Jonas Jensen, NEFCO proactively offers financing to businesses that meet the organization's criteria. In the case of the Tolochin project, such cooperation means that the production at the facility being created is safe from an environmental impact perspective. Furthermore, it grants the company's products access to almost all world markets, added the BelDan manager.

Sergey Antonov, Vitebskiye Vesti.