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Belarus will not sell any more powdered milk in Russia because it is no longer profitable to do so, Belarussian Agriculture Minister Semyon Shapiro said Monday.
Belarus will only resume selling it upon Russia's request, Shapiro told reporters in Voronezh, Interfax reported.
"I'm convinced that the milk problem came up because we don't know each other very well," he said. "The results that we have attained in agriculture are not due to any kind of government support [of the industry], but because of our country's policies and the hardworking nature of the people."
Earlier this month, the Federal Consumer Protection Service banned almost all Belarussian dairy products, citing their noncompliance with packaging regulations passed in December.
The service allowed shipments to resume two weeks ago, following a round of talks between Russian and Belarussian officials. The bans came after Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko traded barbs over the health of the Belarussian economy and loan-worthiness of the government.
Last week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hinted that a 40 percent hike in Belarussian quotas on milk exports may have been the original cause of the dispute. He said the two sides had reached an agreement that Belarus would not supply powdered milk in the second and third quarters and that Belarus was responding "badly and emotionally" to the deal.
Belarussian dairy exports to Russia have been estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion per year.
Belarus Halts Exports of Powdered Milk
30 June 2009
The Moscow Times
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