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The Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation has still not reached full capacity. Its management is once again asking for state support. Alyaksandr Lukashenka said this at today’s meeting devoted to the corporation.
“It was planned that premium feed, premixes, vitamins and amino acids would not only take the domestic agricultural sector to a new level, but would also become a major export item and bring foreign currency earnings to the country,” Lukashenka said, recalling the launch of the corporation in 2022.
According to him, the corporation received substantial benefits, large sums were contributed from the budget to its charter fund and major loans were attracted from China.
“These included tax preferences, government guarantees on loans and a special procedure for accounting for exchange rate differences. Budget funds worth 226 million roubles were contributed to the company’s charter fund. Around $600 million in preferential government loans from the People’s Republic of China alone was attracted,” he continued.
Lukashenka said everything and even more had been done to ensure BNBC’s successful operation.
“The materials presented show that, unfortunately, these results are not there. Although you receive your salaries regularly, almost 16% above the average regional level,” he said, adding that the only thing the corporation can boast about is the geography of its supplies.
However, BNBC still does not operate at full capacity.
“To this day, the biochemical and feed production facilities have still not reached full capacity, the target indicators of the production programme have not been achieved and there remains an acute shortage of working capital.
What does the management do in this situation? It follows the usual path: coming with an outstretched hand for additional state support.
I remind you once again — there is no money in the budget for this and there will not be any. Funds are allocated temporarily and must be repaid. I say this for those who still have not understood,” Lukashenka said, according to his press service.
This is not the first time the issue of state support for BNBC has arisen. At the end of 2023, Alyaksandr Lukashenka had already held a meeting on the development of the corporation. At that time, he said there were problems with capacity utilisation and product sales, which negatively affected financial performance. It was then decided that the corporation’s work would be overseen by a state representative, with Mikalai Snapkou appointed to the role. BNBC’s charter fund was also increased. In 2024, the government provided guarantees on the corporation’s loans and there was a change of chief executive. In March this year, the Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on support for BNBC, the contents of which were almost entirely hidden under the classification “for official use”. The published part suggested that new loans for the corporation were involved.
Despite the huge sums invested and the lack of returns, Lukashenka believes it is necessary to have a biotechnology sector.
“This is the path of all technologically advanced countries. We cannot lag behind. Therefore, today, in addition to principled and objective assessments of the current situation, I expect specific proposals on the prospects for BNBC’s development in the coming years,” he said.
Lukashenka stressed that it was “necessary first of all to specify who the end consumer of BNBC products is, what products have already been created and what new products will be offered to the market in the foreseeable future.” He also asked how supplies to agricultural enterprises were proceeding and what the quality of the products was.
“All the approaches you propose for BNBC’s development must work in practice. The enterprise must load its capacities and finally become financially sustainable,” he told Deputy Prime Minister Yury Shuleika.
A question was also put to Mikalai Snapkou about how the assignment concerning the BNBC-3 project with direct Chinese investment was being implemented.
“The limit of support for this enterprise from the budget has long been exhausted,” Lukashenka reminded those present.
Questions were also addressed to the chairman of the presidium of the National Academy of Sciences, Uladzimir Karanik.