Page 36 - BELRptSept18

9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Belarus harvested 5.19mn tonnes of grain as of August 27 vs 7.18mn tonnes on the same date last year , according to the government's news agency BELTA . The outlet did not elaborate on the reasons behind this significant drop this year, adding only that the weather conditions during the current harvesting campaign were "inclement". Meanwhile, the country reports an average yield of 26.4 centners per hectare vs 35.7 centners per hectare last year. The biggest contributors to the grain harvest was the Minsk region (1.3mn tonnes) and the Brest region (926,000 tonnes). On August 27, head of the crop production department of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry Vasily Yadlovsky said that the grain harvest campaign in Belarus is over. "There is still buckwheat and millet, and also a part of grain legumes are left to crop in the Vitebsk and Gomel regions," the official added.
Belarus expects to harvest about 7mn tonnes of grain in 2018, the head of the crop production department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry Vasily Yadlovsky said on 3 August, BelTA reports. “This year we expect to harvest about 7mn tonnes of grain including corn. We need 850,000 tonnes of grain for food purposes. The bulk, 5mn tonnes, is used as fodder supply,” said Yadlovsky. Belarus saw a prolonged period of dry, hot weather. “This year the harvest campaign kicked off earlier than in 2017 as crops were ready ahead of time due to hot weather. With the lack of moisture, the crops did not take the necessary weight and yield. Nevertheless, the forecast harvest will meet the country's procurement order, the demand for bread grain, and the needs of processors and the cattle-breeding sector,” said Yadlovsky.
9.1.11 Other sector news
The Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) has signed a five-year memorandum on the supply of new types of potash fertilizers to China's Sinochem Group , the company said in a statement published on August 13. According to the memorandum this innovative product will be supplied to the Chinese market during a five-year period from 2019 to 2023 with the right to sign annual contracts based on the current market situation. According to the terms of the document the total supply volume for the five years will be 700,000 tonnes. According to the statement, the signed document "follows and develops the mainstream line of cooperation between the companies, contained in the existing memorandum on other types of Belarusian potash", signed on May 10, 2015 during the visit to Belarus of the government delegation of China in the presence of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko and his China's counterpart Xi Jinping.
36 BELARUS Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com