BELARUSTV — broadcast
20260808 073000 UTC
326 transcript segments
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[00:00:38] As of today, yes, given the increasing number
[00:00:41] of energy sources using local fuels, such as wood chips and
[00:00:44] pellets, the remaining quantities are no longer increasing; they are at
[00:00:48] least slowly decreasing. We
[00:00:50] certainly still need to work on this problem, but
[00:00:54] it must be understood that this is not a task for a single day. Out of curiosity, I
[00:00:58] monitored the situation with... and you know what,
[00:01:02] in some places they are even ready to sell last year's
[00:01:05] goods. But let's talk about it in October, November, when, as is traditional,
[00:01:08] the masses will wake up and rush to diversify
[00:01:11] fuel resources, because in the household neither
[00:01:15] pellets nor biofuels nor firewood will be superfluous. This is if the owner is
[00:01:18] diligent and provident, has a
[00:01:21] plan, stopped selling fertilizers
[00:01:25] abroad until we provide for ourselves. When we
[00:01:28] arrive in Mogilev...
[00:02:30] years and months, then
[00:02:41] over the last 5-7 years the global agri-food
[00:02:44] system has faced a large number
[00:02:48] of challenges and shocks, which have led to the fact that
[00:02:52] today 266 million
[00:02:54] people in 47 countries of the world are in a situation
[00:02:58] of acute hunger, while... global food
[00:03:01] security mechanisms have not worked and have
[00:03:05] not been able to solve the growing food
[00:03:09] problem. The international community still relies
[00:03:12] on financing emergency food
[00:03:16] aid for solving food security problems,
[00:03:19] which, by the way, is decreasing. For the period from
[00:03:23] 2022 to 2025,
[00:03:26] the volume of food aid
[00:03:29] financing in the world decreased by 60%.
[00:03:42] The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz made it practically
[00:03:45] impossible to deliver through this
[00:03:49] channel fertilizers,
[00:03:51] energy carriers, food. First
[00:03:54] of all, this was felt by the countries of Southeast
[00:03:58] Asia and'. the Union. For some goods,
[00:04:02] dependence on this supply channel was
[00:04:05] 50% or more. Moreover,
[00:04:09] the Hormuz crisis happened precisely at a
[00:04:12] critical period for world agriculture, when
[00:04:15] the sowing campaign began. And in
[00:04:19] this regard, the rise in prices for fertilizers, fuels and lubricants,
[00:04:23] led to an increase in the costs
[00:04:25] of agricultural producers. I will give such data from international
[00:04:29] statistics. In April 2026,
[00:04:33] the price of carbamide on the world market was
[00:04:36] twice as high as in April
[00:04:40] 2025, and the price of
[00:04:43] triple superphosphate increased by
[00:04:46] 30%. Of course, prices for
[00:04:49] food also reacted to such a rise in fertilizer and
[00:04:52] energy carrier prices. According to data
[00:04:55] from the Food and Agriculture
[00:04:59] Organization. FAO food price index for the first half of
[00:05:02] 2026
[00:05:06] increased by 6
[00:05:08] percentage points, which is a lot. First of all, this growth
[00:05:12] occurred due to prices for meat,
[00:05:15] grain and vegetable oil. I note that the index
[00:05:19] of vegetable oil prices increased by 23
[00:05:22] percentage points. Farmers in the European Union also
[00:05:26] experienced an unprecedented increase in costs,
[00:05:30] and, accordingly, the competitiveness of their
[00:05:33] products decreased and their production potential is shrinking. This
[00:05:37] is evidenced by statistical
[00:05:38] data.
[00:05:47] In the current situation, for the Republic of Belarus,
[00:05:50] it is important not only to gain an advantage from
[00:05:54] the favorable conjuncture of the world food market, when
[00:05:57] prices are rising and demand for our products is growing,
[00:06:01] but also to occupy niches that
[00:06:05] are being vacated by those countries that suffered from
[00:06:08] the Middle Eastern conflict. Our
[00:06:11] Belarusian... model of ensuring food
[00:06:14] security, our doctrine, is
[00:06:17] based primarily on a high level
[00:06:20] of self-sufficiency in basic types of agricultural
[00:06:23] products, raw materials, and food. This
[00:06:26] allows us, regardless of any
[00:06:29] changes in the external environment, to guarantee the food
[00:06:33] security of our population
[00:06:35] and to carry out stable export supplies
[00:06:38] of food to the world market. According to the data of the World Rural and Agricultural and Food Organization, in
[00:06:43] the Republic of Belarus,
[00:06:46] the normative diet of the population
[00:06:49] is provided by its own resources at
[00:06:52] 140%, and moreover, for
[00:06:55] 99% of the republic's population
[00:06:58] a healthy diet is available. Of course, in the agro-industrial complex there are not many
[00:07:02] labor resources, and the whole world is moving towards mechanization, firstly,
[00:07:06] because it is speed, secondly, people even for
[00:07:09] big money are no longer ready, as before, and not...
[00:07:42] you do for milking cows, milkmaids are fewer and fewer, Alena
[00:07:46] will not go tomorrow
[00:07:49] to milk cows, she won't go, who will milk there, we
[00:07:52] need these robots, we need our own, we desperately
[00:07:56] need it, because not only
[00:07:59] Alena, but also your
[00:08:02] wives and children, not
[00:08:05] very much, and mine and yours not very much there, well I don't have daughters,
[00:08:09] and whoever has them, they won't go milk cows.
[00:08:12] Ilona smiles, as if she's going to milk cows,
[00:08:16] well, we'll see. If this is a question of our food
[00:08:19] security, then the concern is quite understandable
[00:08:23] that we should be able to provide it ourselves and for
[00:08:26] ourselves. Yes, it's not as simple as with the baler, especially
[00:08:30] since there are plenty of analogues in the world. Even our Chinese friends can
[00:08:34] and do, and are ready to share technologies. Now in
[00:08:37] Brest, two are being compared. I
[00:08:41] confessed to the president
[00:08:44] that I brought in a Chinese baler,
[00:08:47] which we are currently testing on our fields, and the
[00:08:51] first experimental work shows that it is not
[00:08:54] at all inferior to Bobruisk Agromash, nor to other
[00:08:58] manufacturers who produce balers in our
[00:09:02] country, this is Grodno, this is Minsk region, we
[00:09:06] have good relations with this Chinese company, which
[00:09:09] is ready to transfer, let's say, technologies.
[00:10:12] Clover and flax. This is flax. The very blue
[00:10:16] field lakes, when it blooms. This is flax,
[00:10:19] beautiful, comfortable to wear, stylish, but
[00:10:22] capricious in cultivation and care. How
[00:10:25] we struggle with it every year. No, there are those who laugh at the phrase about
[00:10:29] pulling long-stem flax, but for those who are in the know, this
[00:10:33] process is not at all about pleasure and fun, and we
[00:10:36] preserve our such demanding wealth, although
[00:10:40] there are analogues, why?
[00:10:43] Flax is called northern silk in our country, behind this poetic
[00:10:46] name are years of selection, field work, workshops,
[00:10:50] machines. We are used to considering it a part of our identity, but
[00:10:54] today on the shelves... next to Belarusian, Chinese flax
[00:10:56] is increasingly appearing, buyers take it.
[00:11:00] We are not rushing to conclusions, but the question arose: what is
[00:11:04] our flax today and, most importantly, is it worth investing in it as much as
[00:11:07] we do? It all starts at the Mogilev Regional Experimental
[00:11:11] Station. Flax-dolgunets selection has been carried out here for 70 years.
[00:11:15] During this time, 27 varieties have been created. Among the bestsellers
[00:11:19] are reliable Malakhit, stable Rubizh, they cover half of all
[00:11:22] flax fields in the country. But to create a variety, it takes no less
[00:11:25] than 15 years, from the first crossbreeding to state tests,
[00:11:29] all for the sake of the fiber being thin, flexible, strong.
[00:11:33] Two new varieties - Patriot and Flagman, have just been sent for
[00:11:36] three-year trials. Varieties of Belarusian selection
[00:11:39] and for Belarusian climatic conditions, it
[00:11:43] must first of all have high fiber yield,
[00:11:46] secondly, quality, probably the most
[00:11:49] important thing before
[00:11:52] fiber yield, is its spinning properties. The station's collection
[00:11:56] has foreign samples from China, France,
[00:11:59] Belgium, Chinese varieties, for example, are tall, high-yielding,
[00:12:02] 1 meter 20 tall, in their climatic conditions they give
[00:12:06] an excellent harvest, but in Belarus they are prone to lodging, and the percentage
[00:12:09] of fiber content and its limiting properties are inferior to our
[00:12:13] varieties, so breeders use the world gene pool in their
[00:12:16] work, crossing foreign samples with domestic ones, to
[00:12:20] take the best from them and create a variety ideally suited for
[00:12:23] our conditions.
[00:12:26] From selection plots to a large field in the Gorki Len farm, this year
[00:12:30] 2 hectares were allocated for the crop. Already 90% has been pulled,
[00:12:34] a little over 160 hectares remain.
[00:12:37] Flax is not an easy crop, it needs a stable temperature of
[00:12:41] 18 to 25 degrees and rain
[00:12:44] exactly on time. And after harvesting, it cannot be returned to the same field for at
[00:12:47] least 5-7 years, otherwise diseases accumulate.
[00:12:51] The main risks, well, when growing flax before germination,
[00:12:55] if there are heavy rains, then it will germinate poorly,
[00:12:58] during vegetation, of course, winds,
[00:13:02] rains, well, and during harvesting, of course,
[00:13:05] the necessary amount of precipitation for retting. Flax straw
[00:13:09] is sent to the factory, where two types of fiber are produced:
[00:13:12] long and short. Raw materials from all over the country flow to the Orsha
[00:13:16] flax mill, the flagship and main processor. Over the past 10 years,
[00:13:20] about 200 million dollars of investments have been made here.
[00:13:23] Today it is no longer just.
[00:13:26] a holding that controls the entire cycle from field to finished product.
[00:13:30] This year we will complete the modernization of the first weaving
[00:13:33] factory, where we will process mostly
[00:13:36] short flax fiber and obtain
[00:13:39] modern fabrics with the possibility of producing
[00:13:42] blended fabrics, so that the fabric is more modern, so that the fabric
[00:13:46] is more comfortable and convenient for our
[00:13:50] consumers. Convenience and comfort are precisely what consumers most often
[00:13:54] cite as an example when comparing our flax with Chinese flax. Their
[00:13:57] advantage is that they were able to make elastane. Elastane
[00:14:01] is great because it holds and does not allow the
[00:14:04] fabric to stretch. Our fabrics, especially 100%
[00:14:08] linen, if it fits snugly and is a little tight, it can
[00:14:11] stretch. Chinese linen is convenient and accessible, but there's
[00:14:15] a nuance: for the money it sells for, there's almost
[00:14:18] no real linen in it. It would seem that in such a case we have an advantage,
[00:14:22] but the market is structured differently: China is a huge, technologically advanced country with
[00:14:26] strong state support, they know how to promote their goods,
[00:14:29] they offer low prices and do it so convincingly that
[00:14:33] consumers rarely think about the composition, and today China is confidently
[00:14:37] moving up the price segment. If we do not hold
[00:14:40] our position, we risk losing the market. To prevent this, we need
[00:14:44] support not only for the giants of Bellegprom, but also for small
[00:14:47] businesses. For example, we have a brand that produces
[00:14:51] products entirely from Belarusian raw materials. Of course, we would like
[00:14:55] to have priority even in purchasing materials, some kind of financial
[00:14:58] support, then we
[00:15:01] can, of course, bypass the Chinese. The interest rates
[00:15:05] on loans and taxes for them are not at all the same
[00:15:09] as ours, so they have very strong state support,
[00:15:12] until we are supported in the same way, we will lose. Now
[00:15:16] let's look at the figures: the export of the Orsha Combine in
[00:15:18] 2025 exceeded 100 million dollars to 40 countries.
[00:15:22] Russia, China, Turkey, European states. At the same time, the profitability
[00:15:26] of flax production in the best farms reaches 70%.
[00:15:29] Is this a lot or a little, given that the state annually
[00:15:33] increases support, is flax worth pulling? Well, here
[00:15:36] it's more appropriate to ask, can we afford to
[00:15:40] give it up? We can't. Flax is not only fabric, it's jobs,
[00:15:43] it's technological independence, it's our
[00:15:46] identity, and to preserve this, we need to continue
[00:15:50] to develop, then northern silk has a
[00:15:52] future. We have many such
[00:15:56] outdated brands as flax, and why this, and that can
[00:15:59] be bought, but if something changes in the usual or on
[00:16:03] the shelf in the store, God forbid, disappears, then
[00:16:06] expect a wave in...
[00:16:28] Orsha Combine is now under the wing of agro-combine Dzerzhinsky, in case
[00:16:32] you didn't know, of course, but the root of the external changes is still
[00:16:35] different. All people are looking, and we see on social networks that they
[00:16:39] are asking: where is the tin can of baby
[00:16:42] food? Baby food was never produced in a tin can,
[00:16:46] there are special admissions and requirements for the production of baby meat puree,
[00:16:50] and an aluminum can was used there, aluminum packaging that was used in
[00:16:53] the production of local preserves, was imported, that
[00:16:57] is, it was bought from outside. The aluminum market in the Russian Federation is
[00:17:00] monopolized by manufacturers who have
[00:17:04] their own views on the development of this story, if...
[00:17:07] delve a little deeper, even among Russian
[00:17:10] manufacturers of products in aluminum packaging,
[00:17:14] there was a resonance, especially among beer producers, due to the fact that
[00:17:18] aluminum prices in Russia are somehow
[00:17:21] linked to the London Metal Exchange,
[00:17:24] and pricing is somehow for
[00:17:27] Russian producers and for friendly
[00:17:31] producers at global prices, which are in no way related
[00:17:35] and to some extent are speculative. We see how
[00:17:38] the situation in the world is developing today, how
[00:17:41] sanctions act and work, therefore,
[00:17:44] taking into account, therefore, the tasks set, first of all, themselves
[00:17:48] understanding that an enterprise that produces such
[00:17:51] an important product as baby food must be
[00:17:54] provided with domestic components, a decision
[00:17:57] was made within the import substitution
[00:17:59] program and to abandon
[00:18:03] third-party production, that is,
[00:18:05] outside the state. The transition to a glass jar
[00:18:09] of domestic production. This, of course, in no way affected
[00:18:12] either the recipes or the contents of
[00:18:16] the jar, all recipes are preserved, but
[00:18:19] today they have a more modern look, a glass jar is still
[00:18:23] neutral glass, a neutral material that does not
[00:18:27] come into contact with food, does not change it, therefore,
[00:18:30] plus the convenience of reheating, it is definitely
[00:18:33] more environmentally friendly, there is a question of established habit here.
[00:18:45] Work is being done, therefore, firstly, to
[00:18:48] maintain prices, here, of course, there are some aspects that
[00:18:52] we are working on with our large retail, but today an absolute
[00:18:56] understanding has been reached, so the end
[00:18:59] consumer will be offered a clear, familiar product, yes
[00:19:03] in a different container, but more recognizable, I believe,
[00:19:06] the information field... Stable.
[00:21:51] International cargo transportation. Route rebuilt.
[00:21:55] The carrier is betting on cooperation with foreign
[00:21:58] companies. Yes, ties with European partners have come to
[00:22:01] naught. And so a solution has been found. And this is again a reorientation to
[00:22:05] the East. Currently, Belarusian carriers have the opportunity to carry out
[00:22:09] international transportation through the territory of 15 states.
[00:22:12] For whom was the recycling fee canceled? The possibility of importing equipment
[00:22:16] without a recycling fee is a vitally necessary
[00:22:19] opportunity for... the carrier. Do all use the benefit
[00:22:22] conscientiously? By the bodies of the State Control Committee - in
[00:22:26] the current year the use of
[00:22:29] 28 units of trucks for unintended
[00:22:32] purposes was revealed. Who chooses a domestic
[00:22:35] manufacturer? If we have our own, well, it's
[00:22:38] ours. If we don't have our
[00:22:41] own, we can't count on
[00:22:43] anyone else, and we know how to do everything
[00:22:47] for people's lives. How do they solve their problem? Issues in the most
[00:22:51] diverse spheres are under the President's
[00:26:09] the accident in 1988, the Polesie State Ecological Reserve
[00:26:12] was created. Later it was renamed
[00:26:16] the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. In this status, it
[00:26:20] exists now.
[00:26:24] My name is Maxim Kudin, I am the Deputy Director for Scientific Work
[00:26:27] of the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. Even after
[00:26:31] a forty-year period after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident,
[00:26:34] research into the behavior of radionuclides in ecosystems remains relevant.
[00:27:03] radioactivity can confidently be considered
[00:27:07] a driving force of evolutionary processes in biota.
[00:27:10] Radioactivity naturally existed since the
[00:27:13] formation of our
[00:27:16] planet. It is present today in
[00:27:19] almost all components we encounter in our
[00:27:23] lives, including.
[00:27:24] числе.
[00:27:30] We still need to be very serious.
[00:28:08] Chernobyl's share is up to
[00:28:11] 10%, in some cases it may be
[00:28:14] even lower.
[00:28:23] Myths about radioactive exposure, there are
[00:28:27] quite a few of them, probably this is all due to the fact that
[00:28:30] each person...
[00:29:32] to this day, its total area is 217,000
[00:29:36] hectares, of which about 1 is allocated for
[00:29:39] the river, approximately 1,409,000
[00:29:43] hectares, this is forest-covered area.
[00:29:47] The reserve was created on
[00:29:49] the most radioactively contaminated lands of Belarus
[00:29:53] and its composition included
[00:29:56] lands of five administrative districts, although the largest
[00:30:00] area is represented by Khoiniki, Braginski, and Narovlya. The organization
[00:30:04] currently employs approximately 750
[00:30:07] people, of whom slightly more than 650
[00:30:11] belong to the category of personnel. These are all
[00:30:14] specialists who carry out activities for
[00:30:17] maintaining this territory as a safe
[00:30:19] object.
[00:30:26] thanks to the measures taken: