Providing food for growth

What the analysis of the global food market says

Supplies of food products abroad occupy an important place in Belarus’ foreign trade today, being a national driver of the domestic economy. Traditionally, our commodity structure is represented by products of animal origin. We also export fruits, vegetables, sugar, rapeseed oil and much more to other countries. What else can contribute to our growth?

Geography is expanding 

In 2020, agricultural products and food worth more than $5.7bn were supplied abroad, in 2022 — $8.3bn, and last year — $8.5bn. Over the past January–July, this figure amounted to $4.4bn, which is 12.5 percent more than in the same period last year. Therefore, the task set by the President of Belarus for our agro-industrial complex for the current year to reach the figure of $9bn looks clearly calculated and realistic. 
The main product groups that formed over 60 percent of export revenue last year are, in particular, dairy and meat products, fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin, and much more.  We are not only strengthening our position in traditional markets, but also successfully developing new geographical directions, promoting our products on the international stage. This result confirms that Belarus is able not only to feed its population, but also to ensure the growth of food supplies around the world. 

Delicious trends

Currently, the main trends in the dairy industry are associated with so-called functional foods. Among the latest innovations are milk phospholipids (which help combat the effects of stress), galactooligosaccharides (milk prebiotic that stimulates the growth of intestinal bacteria) and collagen proteins (for healthy skin and hair).
Bright domestic examples include enterprises that have started producing sweets from powdered milk. Riding the wave of the trend for all things ‘chocolate-Dubai-esque’, cocktails, ice cream and chocolate-covered curd cheeses with a filling close to the original have appeared in retail chains.

The global meat market is also actively developing, where great attention is currently paid to environmental and human health issues, and Belarusian domestic enterprises are working effectively in this niche. A number of new products have been introduced this year.

The Bordeaux sausage contains duck meat, chicken breast, truffle and noble mould. Under another brand, three new chicken products have appeared — fillet in jelly, smoked-boiled fillet and gizzards in marinade.
In the global oil and fat industry, interest is growing in expanding the range of products for functional nutrition with reduced calorie content, as well as in increasing the share of oils and fats for special purposes. Particular attention is paid to improving refining and deodorisation methods, structural modification of vegetable oils (transesterification, fractionation) to obtain products with a wide range of physico-chemical and organoleptic properties, and the production of products with a low content of trans-isomers of fatty acids. The strategy of Belarusian manufacturers is fully focused on these trends.

Strategic objective

The global confectionery industry has shown demand for organic chocolate due to its lack of chemical additives that can cause health problems for some. Healthier snacks are a core strategy for leading companies worldwide. We have such examples too. One factory in Belarus has started producing dense, shaped chewy marmalade and chewy zefir, similar to marshmallows. These products have won over domestic consumers and have already entered foreign markets.

So-called convenient products (requiring less cooking time) are gaining particular momentum in the global fruit and vegetable market. These include sliced produce, ready-made salads, vacuum and other smart packaging. Demand is growing for innovative ‘miracles’, such as spaghetti made from vegetables instead of wheat.

In addition, we have organised the production of vegetable cream soups in Tetra Pak cartons. Overall, Belarusian food producers have a strategic objective to produce new types of products, the likes of which do not yet exist on the domestic market.

Ultra-processed foods supplies 

Belarus has the necessary conditions and resources to maintain and expand the presence of our goods in foreign markets. We must continue to bet on a multi-vector foreign trade policy, developing new global food niches.

It is essential to pay attention to areas such as increasing export supplies of products with deeply processed agricultural raw materials, including with the use of biotechnologies; and developing fundamentally new export-oriented products, including those intended for children, pregnant women, the elderly, as well as for sports and diabetic nutrition.

It is necessary to develop import-substituting food production, oriented not only towards domestic consumers, but also towards foreign customers.
Therefore, it is required to further master modern production and sales management systems, and introduce resource-saving equipment — steps in these and other directions will collectively create new competitive advantages for domestic organisations in the global market.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS

At present, Belarus is actively promoting agricultural products on the African continent. Our interest is due to the growing demand for food here, due to the large population, which amounts to 1.42 billion people, or 18.2 percent of the world’s population. Thus, Algeria and Egypt, which are Belarus’ key trading partners on the continent, have a capacious market for products such as meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, and sugar.
At a recent meeting with the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tareq Al Said, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, “With our projects in Oman, we are strengthening the food security not only of Oman, but of your entire region.” The President also emphasised, “As a result, we expect to create a good and long-term supporting point in Oman — a hub for promoting Belarusian products in the Persian Gulf and East Africa.” In order to expand foothold of domestic manufacturers and exporters in the African markets, Belarus takes into account, in addition to technical and veterinary sanitary standards, the presence of religious requirements for many food products, including the halal certificate.

By Natalya Kireenko, Doctor of Economics, Professor