Łukašenka slams biotechnology corporation for missing production targets
April 7, Pozirk. The Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation (BNBC), launched in late 2022, has fallen short of its production targets and continues to face a severe shortage of working capital, Alaksandar Łukašenka has told officials.
“The plan was for premium compound feed, premixes, vitamins, and amino acids not only to boost the domestic agricultural sector, but also to become a major export product and earn foreign currency for the country,” he noted.
The BNBC failed to deliver any tangible results despite substantial support from the state, including tax breaks, government loan guarantees and a special procedure for accounting for exchange rate differences, Łukašenka said. The corporation reportedly received 226 million rubles (around $77.3 million) in aid, in addition to roughly $600 million in loans from China alone.
However, the biochemical and animal feed production facilities have yet to reach full capacity, the Belarusian ruler said, noting that the budgetary funds allocated to support the BNBC have been fully exhausted.
Established in 2016, the BNBC was designed as a full-cycle, high-tech agro-industrial facility that produces essential amino acids for the feed industry through advanced grain processing.
The company’s CEO is Daniil Uritsky, formerly Daniyar Usenov, the fugitive ex-prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, who changed his name and acquired Belarusian citizenship.
Belarus' cattle population down 3.7 percent year on year
March 29, Pozirk. Belarus counted 3.87 million head of bovine animals in late February, 3.7 percent fewer than a year earlier, according to Pozirk’s analysis of data from the National Statistical Committee (Biełstat). Every region reported a decline except Hrodna, …
