An agricultural enterprise with Chinese capital may appear in the Vitebsk region

Chinese investors intend to establish their own agricultural enterprise in the Vitebsk region, as reported by Konstantin Cherny, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Economics Committee.

"Throughout 2015, we engaged with all major Chinese corporations. We took a pragmatic approach and explained to potential partners that relying solely on foreign loans is not entirely appropriate for our region. The goal of Chinese investments is to enter a particular industry as a whole. Therefore, we proposed the dairy sector. The Chinese have the resources and working capital to attract advanced technologies from Israel, Austria, and Canada. I wouldn't want to rush, but there is a definite confirmation from the Chinese side that they are interested in projects involving the organization of a full cycle of milk production and processing within the Vitebsk region," explained Konstantin Cherny.

He specified that this concerns the establishment of an entity with entirely foreign investment in the near future. Representatives of the Chinese side have already visited districts of the region, toured collective farms, and studied the condition of the material and technical base and agricultural lands proposed for use.

 

"In many aspects, we are in a more advantageous position than the Chinese, in terms of taxation and support for agricultural producers. They do not have this, so it is interesting and beneficial for them. Today, they are resolving the issue in their country to have this project supported by the Bank of China. I think, given the significance of the companies involved in the negotiations, the issue will be resolved positively. And by summer, we will have a clear answer that they are entering into such a project," - added Konstantin Cherny. "This experience, in essence, will allow us to develop and test an algorithm for implementing Chinese projects under a new scheme in Belarus. For example, eastern investors are also interested in our flax processing and woodworking," - said the Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Economy of the Regional Executive Committee.

Ekaterina Knyazeva – BELTA.