Orsha Linen Mill is developing markets in Japan, Switzerland, and Thailand

November 4, Minsk / Tatyana Chumakova - BELTA /. RUPTP "Orsha Linen Mill" has expanded its export geography this year: the first batches of products from the linen mill have been sent to Japan, Switzerland, and Thailand. This was reported to BELTA correspondent by the enterprise's General Director Vladimir Nesterenko. According to him, it is too early to say whether these countries will become permanent partners of the Belarusian enterprise, but Orsha Linen Mill is interested in this. Currently, the linen mill supplies products to more than 30 countries. This year, the enterprise managed to maintain the export volume at last year's level, the General Director noted. However, in 2008, compared to 2007, it significantly decreased due to the global financial and economic crisis. According to Vladimir Nesterenko, the linen products currently offered on the Belarusian market do not arouse sufficient interest among domestic buyers. At the same time, in many European countries, linen clothing is in very high demand. The General Director explains the insufficient demand for linen products among Belarusian buyers by two reasons. Firstly, Belarusians, living in a country where flax has been cultivated since time immemorial, perceive flax as something ordinary and standard, which is why the choice when buying often falls on products made from other materials. Secondly, Belarusian garment factories do not work enough with flax, from which, like any raw material, unusual and attractive products can be made. In Vladimir Nesterenko's opinion, linen clothing would be in greater demand among Belarusians if a more diverse range of it were presented. The General Director also noted that the volume of global sales of flax and products made from it strongly depends on fashion trends, which are formed annually in famous fashion houses. Orsha Linen Mill is one of the leading enterprises in the light and textile industry of Belarus and the CIS countries, established in 1930. It produces over 30 million linear meters of finished linen fabrics per year. The main range of finished products includes various table linen: tablecloths, napkins, towels and their sets; bed linen: sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers and sets; half-linen bedspreads. There are over 120 branded sections of the enterprise operating in Belarus. -0-