OREANDA-NEWS. On August 02, 2008 President Alexander Lukashenko continued his tour of the country by visiting Gomel Region, reported the Official website http://president.gov.by.

The Head of State appreciated positively the ongoing harvest of cereals in the Region. At some agricultural companies crop yield reached 80 centners per hectare. And the harvest in Gomel Region is gathered in by using mostly Belarusian branded equipment. Alexander Yakobson, Chairman of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee, said the Region expected to gather in 1.5 million tonnes of grain this year.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that Gomselmash branded combine harvesters were receiving praise in the other regions of Belarus. For example, Gomel-made harvesters were gathering in crops in the Bolshevik-Agro Agricultural Cooperative, Soligorsk district, which the President visited on 1 August.

The quality of this equipment, Alexander Lukashenko said, should be made as high as possible; it should be on a par with that of the best of European agricultural machinery.

This year, 1,500 Belarusian grain harvesters have been exported; next year 3,000 units are planned to be sold internationally.

The President visited the Brilevo Agricultural Company, Gomel Region, to examine industrial growing, processing and storing of vegetables with the use of modern-day technologies and examine the progress with regard to import-substitution initiatives in vegetable production. He was reported on the fulfilment of his earlier instructions relating to the development of production and processing of vegetables in Gomel Region.

Founded in 1921, Brilevo is one of the oldest companies in Belarus. It specialises in the production of dairy goods and vegetables and in industrial processing of vegetables. Last year the company’s gross output increased by 36 per cent from 2006. In 2007 it produced 10,900 tonnes of vegetables.

The renovated tinned food factory produces more than 40 descriptions of vegetable and fruit preserves today; last year the company produced 3.1 million cans of food preserves. Last year Brilevo gained Br 2.3 billion in sales revenues with the profitability reaching 18 per cent; over the first five months of this year the revenues hit Br 3.5 million, profitability at 58.7 per cent.

The President pointed to the need to intensify the development of the processing industry in Belarus.

Production of tinned food is set to double this year in Belarus, the Head of State was told. Gomel Region, as well as all other regions of Belarus, has been implementing a comprehensive programme aimed at upgrading the vegetable processing industry. The Gomel Region specialists have been demonstrating a creative approach to this issue, studying foreign techniques and methods and applying the best of international practice in this field. Specifically, Brilevo, which incorporates a tinned food factory, has been applying new approaches and implementing an upgrade project which is expected to result in new import-substituting vegetable-based food.

Alexander Yakobson informed the President that the Region had tackled the problem related to production of green peas. The Region has been producing enough onions, garlic and asparagus.

The President appreciated positively the projects implemented at Brilevo. He said that Belarus needed such agricultural companies as Brilevo which demonstrated modern-day approaches to vegetable processing.