29 March 2024, Friday, 9:06
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Leanid Zaika: People will have to buy meat in Russia

Leanid Zaika: People will have to buy meat in Russia

African swine flu shows what meat Belarusian meat-packing plants sell people.

One more ban on the import of Belarusian meat to Russia was imposed yesterday due to an increased concentration of antibiotics, salmonella and E. coli bacteria. Economist Leanid Zaika explains how the bans will hit Belarusian consumers and who should be blamed for imposing the restrictions.

– I think it is great when special sanitary services prevent products with contamination and diseases from being brought into the country. It is a normal practice. They care about health of Russian people. We don't speak about all Belarusian meat. We speak about products of certain plants. I think directors of these state-owned plants understand where they buy animal feed, at what price and what the feed contains. No one controls it in Belarus. Belarusians eat what they are offered. Thanks to Russians, we can know the real state of things at our meat-packing plants and dairies. If it were only inside the country, responsible officers would drink, eat a peace of “contaminated” meat and come to an agreement. But now we have objective information. It is very good news.

– Many may think that the ban on importing Belarusian meat to Russia is a sort of revenge for frauds with reselling European products.

– I'd like to believe that Russian officials are clever and responsible. Regarding that a businessman selling five kilogrammes of Polish apples to Russia as a threat to the Russian economy that should be punished is a disgraceful and unworthy act of a citizen, I think. I do not agree with the opinion about new product wars and refusal to buy Russian buckwheat or pasta. Products should meet high standards. Belarus has higher physicochemical and biochemical standards than the EU.

– Why then don't they suit Russia if they are so high?

– It's because Belarusians violate sanitary norms. Plant A, plant B and certain directors don't perform their functions properly, don't monitor sanitary conditions at their plants, allow selling unchecked and unsatisfactory products. Such directors should be punished. I think Lukashenka should question each of them. They should explain themselves to public in the media.

– Do you think that directors of meat-packing plants can lose their posts due to the incident?

– I would dismiss them. They must monitor quality all the time. There are laboratories that are supposed to test meat for staphylococci and microbiological substrate, but they may work not well enough and may hire unqualified people through the back door, as it often happens in small towns. We need more responsibility, but they just shout that they make good meat, but Russia doesn't want to buy it.

– How will the bans and African swine fever influence the variety of meat in Belarusian shops?

– It is due to ASF that started 12-18 months ago that Belarusian shops were selling German liver, Swedish pork kidneys and Danish fatback. Belarusians received an opportunity to taste good European meat products. A range of products was excellent.

– Do Belarusians have enough “healthy” meat of high quality?

– If Belarusian authorities begin to buy meat in Poland, where farmers sell it at $1 per kilogramme, directors of Belarusian meat-packing plants and farmers will have to hang themselves or shot themselves near Lukashenka's residence. Belarusian consumers will be happy to buy meat at one or three dollars in Belarus, but it will never happen. I have returned from Kaliningrad recently: pork costs 5$, while its cost in Belarus is $12. We can go to Russia to buy meat. By the way, a car that cost $15,000 now costs %10,000 due to the ruble rate changes. It happens with all goods. And people go to Russia. Day and night, young and old, all go to Russia! We should enjoy life and use the benefits of the union state.

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