The Belarusian government controls food security and sets a task to increase the production of cucumbers and tomatoes in greenhouses during the winter season in the most technologically advanced and cost-effective way. This will reduce the dependence on imports and unjustified price spikes. The necessary volumes are currently being calculated, including for the next-generation greenhouses, as well as investments. The government is confident that the issue of producing their vegetables in the offseason will be resolved within a few years.
Aleksey Bogdanov, the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus said: "Prices have indeed risen because we could not import from other countries. The only market from which we could bring cucumbers this season was Russia. Belarusian cucumbers have proven themselves well. If we grow more of them, we can achieve a truly competitive price for the domestic market."
The site for the construction of a new greenhouse is ready, and the project is currently under examination. Another important issue is the seeds and technologies for growing vegetables. For this, the government mainly follows the Dutch path, but Russian varieties are also purchased. Some rows in the greenhouse will be given to Belarusian breeders and scientists.
Roman Golovchenko, the Prime Minister of Belarus, said: "The costs of producing this product are related to energy. Here, the state can take measures to reduce costs for specific producers. Today, we grow only 50% of the demand for Belarusian cucumbers and only a quarter of the demand for tomatoes ourselves. To solve the problem, we have determined that about 30 hectares of modern greenhouses are needed."
Source (Russian): www.tvr.by