OREANDA-NEWS. Belarus' swine population is expected to grow to 3.304 million heads by January 1, 2016, while pork production in live weight is expected to grow to 485,000 tonnes in live weight, the government's press-service said in a release.

Belarus plans to increase pork production by means of launching 13 new pig farms.

Belarusian farmers plan to increase the population of pigs in 2015 by at least 18% to overcome the consequences of the African Swine Fever (ASF), Belarus' Vice Minister of Agriculture Vasili Sedin told reporters on Wednesday.

Belarus is supposed to restore its swine population, which stood at 3.3 million heads and shrank by 18% as a result of ASF outbreaks, Sedin said.