OREANDA-NEWS. March 5, 2009. In 2009 the enterprises accountable to the Belarusian Ministry of Agriculture and Food intend to resume exports of dry non-fat milk to Israel. Besides, new export items will be introduced, including cheese, butter and canned milk, said Belarusian Agriculture Minister Semyon Shapiro as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Belarus Eduard Shapira.

Semyon Shapiro pointed out that agriculture is becoming the most promising cooperation avenue between the two states. Israel is actively developing greenhouse vegetable production and many Belarusian specialists received training in best greenhouse enterprises of this country.

In 2009 energy-efficient greenhouses with a total area of 19 hectares will be constructed in the Gomel oblast. Israeli technologies will be employed there. This is why the Israeli expertise will come in handy for Belarusian specialists.

Apart from that, a joint pilot project in cattle breeding and crop production based on Israeli technologies may be launched in the Pruzhany region of the Brest oblast. The project includes production of sugar beet, rape for biofuel, construction of cattle breeding complexes.

Israel Centre for International Cooperation has proposed to organize advanced training courses for agricultural specialists in Belarus. The lectures will be held by best professors from Israeli agricultural universities. These courses will be financed by the Israeli side. Semyon Shapiro welcomed this proposal.

The sides also discussed some other areas of the bilateral cooperation. Eduard Shapira informed that a possibility to hold the first session of the joint Belarusian-Israeli committee for trade and economic cooperation is being studied. He invited the Belarusian Minister of Agriculture and Food to take part in the AGRITECH- 2009 exhibition of agricultural technologies that will be held in Tel-Aviv on May 5-7. The previous exhibition held in 2006 was visited by 25,500 people from 105 countries.