OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2012. Belarus is poised to become practically self-sufficient in pasta products by saturating the domestic market with home-made pasta products, Vasili Sedin of the Agriculture Ministry’s Bakery Goods Department told reporters.

Belarus is getting ready to become almost completely self-sufficient in pasta products in 2013, the only exception being pasta made of hard durum wheat, which does not grow in Belarus for climatic reasons, Sedin explained.

At the moment, imports account for some 50% of the demand for pasta products on the Belarusian market, the department chief said.

By late 2013 Belarus’ pasta producers are expected to boost output to some 65,000 tonnes, the home market’s capacity being around 68,000 tonnes, Sedin said.

Belarus’ pasta producers are due to launch new production facilities in the coming months, boosting the country’s pasta production potential by 20,000 tonnes. In particular, bakery companies in Lida (Grodno Region), Borisov (Minsk Region) and Minsk City are currently busy installing Italian- and Swiss-made pasta production equipment.

According to the National Statistics Committee, Belarus boosted pasta output 32.9% year on year in 2011 to 34,405 tonnes. Exports account for 1,083 tonnes, Russia being the major destination.