Фото: Пул первого
Aliaksandr Lukashenka held a meeting today on the development of the flax industry. The meeting is taking place at the Orsha Linen Mill, where he attended a ceremony marking the launch of a high-count ring-spinning production line using cottonized flax fibre. In his opening remarks, Lukashenka decided to make a “verbal intervention” aimed at stimulating demand for linen products.
“Anyone who chooses linen makes a significant contribution to the environment and to their own health and that of their family. So my advice to women is to give preference to linen products in their wardrobes. The same goes for bed linen — choose linen,” he said.
He also stressed that flax is a politically significant crop in Belarus. He compared it to potash fertilizers.
“For Belarus, flax is not only a strategic crop but also a political one. Just look at our country’s coat of arms. It is an important part of our cultural and historical heritage, one of our symbols and a fairly large segment of the economy. You could say it is our gold, alongside timber and potash,” he said.
It should be noted that export revenues from the sale of flax and flax products are several times lower than those generated by potash fertilizer sales. At the same time, Russian statistics show that Belarus imports flax fibre. For example, 982 tonnes of flax fibre were imported from Russia in the first eight months of this year.
Lukashenka cited several arguments in favour of continuing to cultivate flax, including the crop’s zero-waste potential.
“Today, Belarus ranks among the world’s top three flax-growing countries, alongside France and Belgium. This is how our modern ‘Flax Normandy-Neman’ is taking shape. Our products are purchased in 43 countries around the world. But the potential of the domestic industry is far from exhausted. Flax is a unique plant that, with the right approach, can be used almost entirely without waste. It is used in the textile, food, chemical, construction and military industries, as well as in medicine,” he said.
According to Lukashenka, the current meeting differs from previous ones. The discussion is no longer about keeping the industry alive.
“We are no longer discussing the survival of the flax-growing industry. We are talking about its development across the entire value chain,” he said.
Lukashenka said this would be the final discussion on the subject, as concrete action was now needed.
“At the same time, you must understand that we do not have helicopter money. Everything allocated is provided as a loan for a specified period, during which you must introduce the technology and achieve the economic targets set out in your business plans. You take these plans to the banks and the Ministry of Finance, defend them and receive the funding. You must deliver what you yourselves have calculated together with your teams. The state has other matters to deal with and other things to finance,” he said.
According to him, the mechanisms for supporting the flax industry need to be overhauled. The average grade of the long fibre produced was 9.7, while that of short fibre was 2.8. However, some enterprises achieved average grades of 10.6 for long fibre and 3.7 for short fibre.
“At these grades, the economics are quite good. Unfortunately, this is not the case everywhere. There are 19 flax-processing plants in the country, and their performance varies considerably,” Lukashenka said.
Two plants in Brest region reported combined net profits of 18.3 million rubles in the first nine months of the year. Two plants in Homiel region recorded profits of 2.4 million rubles, while six plants in Vitsyebsk region posted a combined net loss of 1.2 million rubles.
“The government is currently working on a new system of support for agriculture. This process will also affect flax production. I am referring to thoughtless subsidies. This does not mean that we will abolish agricultural subsidies tomorrow. But we will examine who receives them and how much. Without disadvantaging farmers, we need to overhaul support mechanisms so that we obtain the raw materials we need and products that are in demand — yarn, fabrics and finished linen goods. We will review the state support system as a whole, including subsidies, state procurement, cost reductions and a pilot project for exporting flax fibre,” he concluded.