Natalia Kachanova visited JSC "Polotsk Dairy Plant"

Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova visited JSC "Polotsk Dairy Plant" and met with the enterprise's staff.

The purpose of the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic's visit to Polotsk today was to familiarize herself with the progress of implementing Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 70 of February 25, 2020 "On the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Vitebsk Region". Alexander Lukashenko tasked the senator with finding out how the decree is being implemented using the Polotsk Dairy Plant as an example. Natalya Kochanova discussed this issue with representatives of local authorities and heads of enterprises that are part of the Polotsk cluster.

The Chairperson of the Council of the Republic visited the plant, toured the production facilities, and communicated with the staff. Employees were concerned about various issues, including the economy, social sphere, and agricultural development.

"I am ashamed of what happened in our country at some enterprises that followed the lead of people commanding from abroad. This is unacceptable; we must think for ourselves. It is important now to preserve enterprises," Natalya Kochanova emphasized.

People were interested in the reaction to the letter signed by trade union members, which demanded an end to sanctions against Belarusian enterprises. "We live in our sovereign country and understand that the stability and social guarantees we have are important. And this must be valued," noted the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic.

The dairy plant employees also raised issues concerning the development of their region. They inquired about how the power grids would be modernized, whether the construction of a polyclinic in the developing residential area "Aeroport" would begin, whether preferential housing loans for young families would be resumed, and how prices for medicines and food would be regulated. Natalya Kochanova took all the raised issues under her control.

The General Director of Polotsk Dairy Plant, Vladimir Safronov, spoke about the enterprise's economy. "The enterprise, together with its agricultural branch in Klyastitsy, employs 112 people. We produce 84 types of products. The closure of the Russian market forced us to revise our sales channels, and we have mastered new markets - Cairo, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia. Last year, we received Br130 million in monetary terms for gross production. This year, we plan to reach Br160 million. The agro-industrial association includes 32 agricultural enterprises, including the Miory Meat Processing Plant," said the head of the plant.

Natalia Kochanova emphasized that the decree to support the APK of the Vitebsk region will help develop this sector, but the associations are also expected to deliver results.

"We need to work, to put working capital into the development and modernization of enterprises. This will benefit everyone: both our enterprises, and the state, and the individual employee," emphasized Natalia Kochanova.