OREANDA-NEWS. September 20, 2010. President Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No 480 ‘On Some Matters Concerning the Development of the Dairy Industry’.

This document authorises the allocation in 2010-2015 of Br17.9 trillion in preferential loans for Belarusian dairy companies to increase milk production and processing. Of this sum, Br10.1 trillion will be spent on building new dairy farms, Br3 trillion on reconditioning the active ones, Br3.2 trillion on building new facilities for keeping cubs of bovine cattle and revamping those currently in use, Br1.6 trillion on upgrading and modernising milk processing companies.

These activities are set forth in the national programme for the development of the dairy industry in the years 2010-2015, which has been approved by the Head of State.

The programme sets a target for agricultural producers to increase the production of milk 1.46 times in 2010-2015 and bring it to 8.1 million tonnes in 2015 and send 7.4 million tonnes of raw milk products to milk processing companies.

A rise in the production of raw milk products is expected to be achieved by increasing the population of cows to 1.35 million, as well as by means of increasing their milk yielding capacity to 6,000kg per year, or 1,27 times more than in 2009.