Working trip to Grodno Region

The President visited the country’s infant milk powder and baby food producer Bellakt in Volkovysk

On June 14th, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko made a working trip to Grodno Region. In Volkovysk, the Head of State visited Bellakt JSC. The President got acquainted with the production base of the enterprise.           belta

Upon arrival at the enterprise, Aleksandr Lukashenko first asked about the fieldwork and progress in planting and recultivation activities. Grodno Region Governor Yuri Karayev reported to the President that everything had been sown and that some places had even been necessary to resow.
“I thought I would see a much better situation in Volkovysk District,” the Head of State remarked, speaking about the things he saw from the helicopter. The governor assured him that things would improve. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko was briefed on the social and economic development of Grodno Region. Although the gross regional product in the region is higher than last year’s figures, it still falls short of the set targets. According to Yuri Karayev, agriculture, construction, and trade are showing positive growth, while the manufacturing sector stills needs to make progress.
The nominal average monthly salary in the region and fixed capital investments are showing advanced growth. 
The Head of State was also scheduled to be briefed on the operation of Bellakt. The President, however, said that he was aware of the enterprise’s strong performance and immediately headed to the production facilities, inviting to discuss everything during the tour. 
Bellakt is the only enterprise in Belarus that produces powdered milk mixtures and cereals for infants and older children. It also produces whole and skimmed milk powder, whey powder, butter, and a wide range of whole-milk and dessert products — more than 200 items in total. The daily milk processing capacity is 865 tonnes, and almost 70 percent of products are sold to Russia. Among other buyers are also Uzbekistan, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Armenia, Vietnam, China, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
Aleksandr Lukashenko examined the production base of the enterprise, visited the baby food packaging section, and got familiar with the product range. The enterprise is gearing up to launch a new PET bottling line for dairy products. The move will secure maximum expansion of the product range. The new workshop will process 100 tonnes of milk per day. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko was informed about plans to build an additional facility to manufacture dry baby food.
The project is expected to be financed from various sources. Almost half of the sum is the loan from the Development Bank of Belarus. The rest is the funds of the national centralised innovation fund, the innovation fund of the Grodno Region Executive Committee and 13 percent — the company’s own funds.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that such products, especially baby food, will always be in demand. For example, many countries in Africa are interested in it. As for loans, the President recalled about the need to pay them back. “We will support this project,” the Belarusian leader said. He instructed to prepare the economic case for the project without delay.
Tatiana Novikova, chief technologist at Bellakt, has been working with baby food for four decades. As she noted, pasty food has been the company’s pride. “It contains practically no sugar, and we are engaged into making our children get used to unsweetened products for three years already. There is a range of food for preschool and school age, and this niche is unoccupied in our country. We also produce yoghurts, and a chocolate sausage — which is unique for Belarus,” she explained. 
There was another issue in the President’s focus. Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined that animal abuse was unacceptable in Belarus. “I love animals. The media have recently reported an incident about a dog being ill-treated in Grodno Region,” the Head of State said. “Yes, the police have found this animal abuser,” Grodno Region Governor Yuri Karayev said. “Have you identified this scoundrel? Take the dog away from him. Find a new loving home for it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko advised. “Don’t let anyone abuse them. Animals are the most vulnerable creatures because they cannot defend themselves against us. We can. They cannot. That’s why we need to protect them.”
The President also mentioned his fondness for horses, “I didn’t feel it that way when I was growing up in the village. When I became President, I was given several horses as gifts. I have watched them closely. What intelligent creatures they are! What a benefit horses have brought to humanity!” 

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by