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Belarus will supply Russia's Kaliningrad exclave with necessary foodstuffs, governor says

Belarus will supply the Kaliningrad province with foodstuffs that have been banned from being imported from Western countries, Nikolai Tsukanov, governor of the Russian exclave, wrote on his Twitter page on Friday.

"I phoned Belarusian Agriculture Minister Leanid Zayats and he expressed readiness to supply food to make up for all shortages," Mr. Tsukanov wrote. “We are analyzing our needs of raw materials for our processing companies and Belarus is doing the same. We will then proceed to the signing of agreements. For instance, apples offered by Belarus are of a reasonable price and excellent quality."

Belarus is ready to substitute for the European Union and the United States as a major exporter of food to Russia, Deputy Agriculture Minister Leanid Marynich said on Wednesday.

"This is a gold mine for us," Mr. Marynich said. "We are ready to replace Western countries as suppliers of many foodstuffs."

In particular, he said, Belarus is ready to boost exports of meat, cheese and milk to Russia. "We will also replace Dutch potatoes and Polish apples; we have everything," said Mr. Marynich. // BelaPAN