Economy Ministry: Belarus’ level of self-sufficiency in main food groups exceeds 100%

The level of Belarus’ self-sufficiency in the main food groups exceeds 100 percent, being much higher for certain food groups – as reported by the Belarusian Economy Ministry’s press service

The economic conclusion was published in a study conducted by the Economy Research Institute of the Economy Ministry on the achievements of Belarus’ socio-economic development over the past three decades.

“For 1993-2022, Belarus increased grain production by 20.3 percent, milk production – by 33.7 percent, that of meat – by 5.1 percent. Thanks to the comprehensive modernisation and technical re-equipment of agricultural organisations, labour productivity in industry rose by over 19-fold. We have achieved the highest level of food self-sufficiency in the EAEU: 96 percent. And for certain groups of products it is significantly higher: 266.9 percent for dairy products, 220 percent for vegetable oil, 141 percent for sugar, 133.2 percent for meat, 125.6 percent for eggs, and 112.3 percent for potatoes,” noted Economy Ministry.

Moreover, according to the Economy Ministry, agricultural production per capita in our country is equal to the level of developed countries, and in many respects it completely exceeds the indicators achieved within the CIS.

“In 2022, 943kg of grain, 418kg of potatoes, 310kg of vegetables, 853kg of milk (one of the best indicators worldwide), 132kg of meat, and 375 eggs were produced per capita,” the Belarusian economic department cites figures.

In the 2022 Global Food Security Index, the Republic of Belarus is ranked 55th out of 113 countries and is characterised as a state with favourable food supply conditions.

“In the world ranking of agricultural and food producers for 2022, our country took 6th place in terms of skimmed milk powder production, 10th position in animal butter production, 12th in potato production, 15th place in whole milk powder production, and 16th in the manufacture of rapeseed oil. Over thirty years, the number of peasant farms has grown 4.7-fold, and their share in the total volume of agricultural production has increased almost 14-fold,” the Ministry of Economy said.