OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2007. To make baby food more competitive, the recipes need to be improved, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said during a session of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers which discussed the Children of Belarus Programme 2006-2010, reported the Official website www.government.by.

According to him, the baby food manufacturers have been increasing the output. However, while upgrading, the producers are not diversifying the recipes. There are around 1.5 million cans stored at warehouses. This means the product is not that popular on the domestic market. “Why increase the output if the warehouses are stocked up to the roof?” the Prime Minister asked.

“A demand for a product is an indicator of its quality, Sergei Sidorsky stressed.- Therefore the Health Ministry and Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs need to boost the production of high quality baby food, first of all, by means of improving the recipes so that Belarusian products enjoy demand in the domestic market first of all. The money should be assigned for promising projects”.

“All efforts undertaken in implementing the presidential programme should benefit Belarusian children rather than be used to suit reports by Belarusian officials,” Sergei Sidorsky said.

Minister of Agriculture and Foodstuffs Leonid Rusak reported that the targets on production of dairy and meat foodstuffs of the Baby Food Programme have been met. There is some lagging behind in meeting the target on production of canned vegetables and fruits. “Regardless rich assortment range, high quality and up-to-date packaging, the canned vegetables and fruits are not in demand in the domestic market. Just 72% of the supply was sold in the ten months 2007. A great number of Moldavian and Ukrainian baby food is on sale and it is 30-60% more expensive than the Belarusian analogues,” Leonid Rusak said.

In January-October this year Br 6,2 billion was channeled into the Baby Food Programme (51,6% of the annual and 99,7% of the ten-month target).