About 70% of the gross output of the Vitebsk region's agro-industrial complex will be produced within integration structures

The meeting was organized at the OJSC "Gluboksky Feed Mill". The main agenda item was the reorganization of agro-industrial complex enterprises, which is envisaged by Decree No. 320 of August 25, 2016 "On the Development of Agricultural Production in the Vitebsk Region".

"Currently, about 30% of the gross output of the Vitebsk region's agro-industrial complex is produced in integration structures. The second step is to increase this figure to 50%. In general, in the future, we must increase the formation of volume indicators in such associations to 70%. In this case, products manufactured in agroholdings will be competitive in the foreign market," the governor noted. Explaining the mechanism of Decree No. 320, Nikolai Sherstnev noted that currently, agro-industrial complex enterprises that have joined integration structures have received deferred payment of loans and other financial concessions. As a result, organizations have been given the opportunity to spend profits not on repaying loan interest, but on development. The main goal is to increase production efficiency, reduce costs, achieve profitable operations, and return all borrowed funds to banks within a few years. The governor recalled that four integration structures are being created in the region. They include pig breeding complexes, large dairy farms, poultry farms, milk and meat processors, grain processing plants, and feed mills.

"Initially, we are attaching farms to the parent enterprises in such a way that the integration structures can truly develop. If we attach all the lands, the desired effect will not be achieved," the head of the region stated. "We understand how much land we need to double the production indicators. The financial resources are limited, and we must use them to the maximum

efficiently. Later, when we start generating profit, we will connect the struggling farms to the integration structures. As for the farms that operate stably, well, and efficiently, they will develop independently." As for the integration structures themselves, over time they will all merge into one. According to the governor, only in this case will Belarusian processors be able to successfully operate in the external market. "Globally, milk processing is handled by a few large companies, and currently, we do not represent any interest to them. But by uniting four structures into a single one, we become significant. There is a difference between signing a contract with a certain dairy plant that has limited capabilities, or with a regional structure that has significantly broader capabilities. These are completely different volumes and, most importantly, a strong guarantee that the contract will be fulfilled, because the structure includes several enterprises, meaning if something happens at one, contracts will be fulfilled by the others. This is global practice, and it should be the same here," the head of the region noted.

Alena Tikhonova – BELTA.