Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 13 / Trend /
Belarusian Minister of Agriculture and Food Mikhail Rusyi was elected the Chairman of the CIS Intergovernmental Council for Agriculture, BELTA reported with reference to the Agriculture and Food Ministry.
A meeting of the CIS Intergovernmental Council for Agriculture was held in Minsk on 9-10 December. The meeting summed up the performance of the agriculture industries in the CIS this year. In particular, in January-September this year agricultural output decreased by 6 percent on average across CIS countries as compared to the corresponding period last year. At the same time, production of meat was up 15 percent, dairy products 10 percent, vegetable oil 1 percent, pasta 7 percent and sugar 4 percent. Production of animal fats went down 7 percent, and the output of cereals and flour remained virtually unchanged.
The meeting considered the food security concept of the CIS states-members adopted by the CIS Council of Heads of Government on Nov.19 2010. A decision was taken to develop measures to ensure increased food security.
The concept says that in the CIS the problem of production of staple products remains urgent. The highest degree of food self-sufficiency in basic food products is in Belarus, and in terms of many food products in Russia and Ukraine
The adoption of special regulations should promote food security in the CIS. In accordance with the concept, they are supposed to secure the annual monitoring of food safety and risk assessment; development of joint food mix forecasts, the establishment of a center for food demand analysis and forecasting.
They also envisage the development of a commodity-distribution network of agricultural products, feed stock and food; elaboration of unified requirements to the system of sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures, etc.
The CIS Intergovernmental Council on Agriculture considered and gave effect to the major guidelines for the creation of a CIS meat and dairy market. The document was approved by the Council of the CIS Heads of Government on 19 November. According to the document, a supply and demand forecast mechanism is needed to form an effective meat and dairy market. It will help define an optimal scheme of supplies and will serve as an information base for signing bilateral and multilateral contracts. Further plans include monitoring of the meat and dairy markets using coordinated methods; implementation of joint projects; further efforts to harmonize technical regulations and other documents outlining compulsory requirements to the meat and dairy products with the international documents. Besides, there is a necessity to develop a network of information and marketing centres to advance meat and dairy products to foreign markets.
The Council decided on preparing and conducting relevant events in 2011, the Year of the CIS Enhanced Food Security.
Attending the session were Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Ivan Bambiza, Agriculture Minister of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the CIS Intergovernmental Council on Agriculture Akylbek Kurishbayev, Agriculture and Food Minister of Belarus Mikhail Rusyi, Deputy Agriculture Minister of Azerbaijan Bahram Aliyev, Deputy Agriculture Minister of Armenia Samvel Galstyan, State Secretary, Deputy Agriculture Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Petrikov, Deputy Minister for Agrarian Policy of Ukraine Igor Yakubovich.