President demands more efficiency from flax industry

President Alexander Lukashenko is visiting Orsha today. The Head of State focuses on integrated development of the flax industry. There are 9 specialized factories in Vitebsk region as well as the only flax institute in the country. The President inspected the work of the modernized Orsha Flax Factory.

It is the only full-cycle fiber processor in the country. It performs more than 100 technological operations. For the past few years, the plant has undergone a large-scale modernization with state support and investment from our partner China. As a result, the volume of exports has increased, the geography of deliveries has expanded. Today it is 43 countries of the world. Revenues and wages have increased at the enterprise.

However, about a third of the capacity remains unused at the modernized Orsha Flax Factory, and part of the fiber has to be purchased abroad. This immediately affects the price of products and the effective work of the enterprise. The Head of State requires a greater return from the industry. In the near future all efforts should be concentrated on the development of deep processing.

For our country, this industry is strategic. Belarusian fiber is highly appreciated all over the world. Flax is actively bought by industrial manufacturers from China, Belgium and Germany, and these are countries that have their own fields. The harvest of this culture depends on many factors: the composition of the soil, weather conditions and technology of cultivation. Therefore, farmers work closely with scientists. The President has criticized the leadership of the agro-industrial complex and the governors for the insufficient volumes of domestic flaxseeds obtained, and often for their quality. The Future of the industry was discussed in detail at a meeting.

The harvest of flax is not only a question of technology, but also a matter of equipment. The President ordered to organize the production of the whole range of necessary spare parts for its repair at domestic industrial enterprises. Moreover, it is necessary to completely abandon the import. This concerns not only the needs of the linen industry, but also other areas. The Head of State ordered to solve all the problems in the industry by next year.