Polish agricultural companies want barriers to trade with Belarus to be removed, members of a Polish delegation told reporters in Minsk on Tuesday.
Ryszard Zarudzki, undersecretary of state at the Polish agriculture ministry, said that he had discussed the matter with Uladzimir Hrakun, Belarus' deputy agriculture minister, earlier that day. "We discussed further ways of cooperation for the purpose of removing barriers that impede our trade," he said. "If we want to cooperate there should be mutual benefit."
Belarus is the largest non-EU buyer of Polish farm produce, said the official. He said that there were restrictions on exports of Polish beef and pork to Belarus.
Lukasz Holubowski, president of Poland's Agricultural Market Agency, said that Poland had one of the best-developed agricultural sectors in Europe. "We would like to overcome barriers to our cooperation," he said. "Polish entrepreneurs are looking for new markets and that concerns not only sales but also investments."
Zbigniew Nowak, head of the Polish Association of Butchers and Processed Meat Producers, noted that Polish businesspeople considered establishing companies in Belarus but wanted investment guarantees from the Belarusian government.
