Belarus: increased cereal production by 5,3 percent

Minsk / BY. (ami) During January to August 2009, the enterprises of the bakery department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Belarus produced 31 thousand tonnes of cereal products, an increase of 5,3 percent compared to the same period last year, informed the department. During the first eight months of the current year, organizations of the department produced 23,5 thousand tonnes of cereals, up 1,5 percent compared to January to August level of 2008. In particular, the organizations produced 5,9 thousand tonnes of pearl barley (down 7,1 percent compared to January to August period of 2008), 5,5 thousand tonnes of fine ground barley (down 11,8 percent), 3,1 thousand tonnes of wheat grits (down 16,6 percent), including also 2,5 thousand tonnes of semolina grits (down 0,4 percent). During January-August of the current year, oatmeal and buckwheat grits production increased by 28,7 percent (to 3,2 thousand tonnes) and 21,6 percent (to 5,3 thousand tonnes), respectively. The plants produced 7,4 thousand tonnes of fast-cooked cereal products, an increase of 19,2 percent compared to January-August period of 2008. During eight months of 2009, the organizations of the department packaged 57,6 thousand tonnes of cereal products to small consumer pack, up 4,4 percent compared to the same period of the last year (source: agrimarket.info).