Belarus processes and exports some of its fruits and vegetables, however some is also stocked in reserves to ensure the smooth sale of fresh fruits and vegetables until the next harvest. Today there are some 400 such storage places in Belarus.
The main consumer of fresh produce in the off season is Minsk. Domestically-grown farm produce sell well, said Alexander Kosovsky, the director of the Partizanskoye company. Partizanskoye now provides almost 50% of the supply of fruits and vegetables to the capital city with a population of two million.
This year Partizanskoye has pickled 180 tonnes of cucumbers and 80 tonnes of tomatoes. Almost 30 tonnes of soaked apples have been prepared for dessert.
Meanwhile, the agricultural enterprise, Zhdanovichi, has plans to start growing organic food. Viktor Kovkhuto, Deputy Director General for Marketing, Sales, Supply, and Procurement at Zhdanovichi, believes this is a very promising area for the company.
Kovkhuto noted that more and more Belarusians prefer to buy washed vegetables. In 2013, the enterprise installed Dutch washing and packaging equipment. “Today the enterprise sells washed and packed carrots and potatoes. The price for washed carrots is Br1,000 higher than that for unwashed carrots. I am talking about the cost price. In retail outlets the price gap may be bigger.” Viktor Kovkhuto explained.
The representative of the Agriculture and Food Ministry said that there are enough Belarusian fruits and vegetables to meet the off-season demand. This year's harvest of potatoes will exceed 6 million tonnes. There will be enough fruits and vegetables. “We will not depend on the off-season import. Buying foreign products has not been a priority for us for a long time. The country is food self-sufficient. Only a small part of products such as bananas and exotic fruits are imported.” said Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Vasily Sedin.
