Why Belarus is considered one of the legislators of modern food fashion

It is said that tastes are not disputed, but this folk wisdom clearly does not work when it comes to food. The hottest battles are raging on this topic. How relevant is the trend for new and unusual tastes and aromas for our country? Can the Belarusian food industry surprise the discerning consumer? On the eve of the Day of Workers of Agriculture and Processing Industry of the agro-industrial complex, we talked about this with the General Director of the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Food Alexey Melescheni.

"We're exporting a lot more." When looking at the shelves and shelves filled to capacity in grocery stores, it is hard to believe that a couple of decades ago the word “scarcity” was common in our lives. Surprisingly, but picky and now enough: the taste is not the same, the assortment is not fully satisfied..

- We are used to the fact that the store has everything we want, including exotic products. If something is still missing, there are marketplaces: order the product - and in a couple of days it will be delivered. I would like to stress that food abundance has been achieved in our country by the titanic work of the Head of State and many thousands of people. Although the food security of Belarus is fully ensured, questions remain. For example, the notorious climatic factor. Therefore, the country always has its own food reserves - on average for a year and a half. The surplus is exported. By the end of the five-year plan, Belarus plans to increase exports of food and agricultural raw materials to $12 billion a year. And that's achievable.

- For different product groups, the situation is different. For example, we produce about 300 percent of domestic needs, but Belarus will not grow exotic fruits on an industrial scale. Not everything is smooth for fish - there are pond farms, but still in the total volume of consumption the proportion of sea fish is quite high. In the off-season, there were questions about fresh vegetables, but now there is an active construction of new greenhouse plants that will solve this issue. When implementing a set of measures to develop fruit and vegetable production in 2025-2027, it is planned to lay about 3 thousand hectares of new intensive gardens in Belarus - this will solve the issue of import substitution for apples and some other traditional fruits. In parallel, the storage capacity of the crop is being increased.

- Can we completely stop importing food today?

- Why? The consumer should always have a choice. We import some food, but we export much more. How do you comment on the claims of kitchen aesthetes: both jamon, they say, Belarusian, not so “chamonious” as in Spain, and parmesan is not all hundred identical to Italian?

- I can assure you that in some cases the claims are exaggerated. How many Belarusians have tasted jamon in their homeland? Countless thousands. And how many of them think it's a fabulous dish? Rumors, of course, fuel the demand, but I think that many, having tasted Spanish ham, will still be disappointed. Yes, the taste is interesting, partly specific, but nothing more. Similar to specific cheeses - only a few people like it. In addition, we have a lot of original Belarusian products, which are respected abroad. For example, from meat - cheesed, smoked products. Or landlords, which were once cooked by our grandmothers at home, and today we produce at the industrial level. The development of the meat processing industry will reach a new stage after the implementation of the state program for the construction of large modern pig breeding complexes. In the meantime, the food driver is the dairy industry.

- Is there anything we can offer consumers today?

- There are a number of projects aimed at developing the production of dry dairy products, as well as high-protein products, which are in demand in the world market today. We also have a growing need for milk protein against the background of a reduction in the carbohydrate component in the diet. We see this, we are developing new technologies and creating new capacities for this direction.

- Does it make sense to compare import-substituting Belarusian developments with the original?

- It is important to remember traditional taste preferences. For example, not every Belarusian will be able to eat the traditional Korean dish kimchi, although its basis is cabbage. It is the same with Indian cuisine, where there is an excess of spices. By the way, if you ask an Italian how much he eats parmesan with a three-year ripening period, he is unlikely to answer that much. And should we strive to get Belarusian parmesan at the level of three-year Italian? This is not necessary because it will sell slowly. A few dozen kilograms a day for our large enterprises is a mere miser. Meanwhile, we have our own good cheeses with a three- or six-month ripening period. They are delicious, have high tasting marks. There is a niche market that we work with, including in the premium segment.

- If we talk about milk, then large cheese factories have cheeses with a 6-12-month ripening period, they have repeatedly received international awards. There is a whole group of interesting meat delicacies. Baby food is of a very good level – from dry mixtures to fruit and vegetable products: careful selection of raw materials, balanced composition. Assistance in this is provided by the SPC for food, and the Ministry of Health monitors. It is also important to know that Belarusian products can be inexpensive, but their quality must be premium.

- Can rapeseed oil be considered one of the modern food brands of Belarus?

- Why not? Now in our country, about 1 million tons of rapeseed oil seeds are grown - the task is to bring the figure to 2 million tons. The views on this oil are very good, including export potential. The annual increase in consumption in the diet of Belarusians is 15-20 percent. The food industry is also reoriented to rapeseed – we and our factories have worked out new recipes. New varieties of rapeseed appear, thanks to this, the quality of the obtained oil is even higher. The campaign to promote rapeseed oil in Belarus was very powerful, the trend was launched by the President. Has the consumer stepped up?

- Yes, especially the younger generation. The share of rapeseed oil consumption in the Belarusian market is approaching 30%. And in the food industry, the share of sunflower and rapeseed oils today is about 50/50.

- Even classic products from time to time require some rethinking, rebranding. For example, we use milk for a long time, but today the technology of its production is significantly different from what it was a few decades ago. Of the trends that are slowly but surely conquering the food market, I note lactose-free and low-lactose products.

Another broad and well-established segment is probiotic products, high-protein foods, and low-protein foods for certain consumer categories. Among the popular functional products are infant formulas with protein hydrolysate, which reduces the risk of allergic reactions. One of our recent developments is a group of fruit and vegetable juices: we are working with specialized plants to increase pectin-containing products. In addition, the Belarusian food industry is moving towards reducing the amount of salt and sugar in food. This is a global trend, but it takes decades because people’s eating habits are not easy to change. When developing protein products, we are actively engaged in the so-called "northern soybeans" - food lupins. Belarusian breeders have proposed several new varieties with a low content of components that give the product bitterness. We see that the amino acid composition of lupins is even better than soy.

Another interesting source of vegetable protein is aquafaba (a decoction of legumes that can mimic the functional properties of egg white). — Approx. ed.), which is suitable for functional nutrition, including sports, and for the elderly. In the future, this topic may be developed in the production of dry mixtures. There are also plans to expand the range of fruit and vegetable canned goods with a different combination of raw materials.

Finally, another challenge facing the food industry is waste minimization. Research is underway on what can be used as secondary raw materials. The direction is specific, but the overall task is clear: the processing of raw materials should be as deep as possible. Overseas line

The leaders in the structure of Belarusian food exports are dairy and meat products. The NAS SPC for Food states: the growth of supplies in the dairy sector is an indisputable evidence of the high quality and competitiveness of domestic products. As for meat products, 20-25% of the production goes abroad - mainly a group of delicacies. In the top export deliveries are also rapeseed oil and sugar. Taste exhibition

The latest developments of Belarusian food products will be presented at the 32nd International Specialized Exhibition-Fair PRODEXPO-2026, which will be held in Minsk on November 17-20. The best products will receive awards of the international tasting competition, which is held by the NAS of Belarus SPC for Food jointly with the BelExpo enterprise with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Belgospishcheprom concern. Many new products visitors to the exhibition will be able to taste themselves.