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Lidagroprommash’s export nearly 50% up in January-July

In January-July 2010 the Belarusian mechanical engineering company Lidagroprommash increased its export by almost 50% to a total of $10 million, the company’s Deputy Director for Marketing and Sales Andrei Zakharchuk told BelTA. Grain harvesters made up the bulk of the export. The company exported 68 Lida-1300 harvesters, including 58 ones to Russia and 10 to Kazakhstan. This year a Lida-1300 harvester was field tested in Serbia. Negotiations are now in progress to supply a small batch of harvesters to Serbia. The company plans to sign contracts to supply grain harvesters to Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Germany, said Andrei Zakharchuk. The company is thinking about exporting more powerful harvesters Lida-1600. This year the company has made 80 Lida-1600 harvesters. Sixty have been shipped to Grodno Oblast farmers, two have been acquired by agricultural companies of Vitebsk Oblast. The machines were successfully used during this year’s harvesting campaign. Some Lida-1600 harvesters will be field tested in Russia. After that their export will be organized. The company started batch production of Lida-1600 harvesters in 2009. A flax harvester is being tested by a Minsk Oblast agricultural company. It had been designed by the Mechanization Research and Practice Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus together with the Belgian company Union. Lidagroprommash has also made flax turners and flax pullers. The company plans to start their batch production after results of the national contest for manufacturing such machines are announced. This year the company has started batch production of potato harvesters KKB-2. It can cleanse potatoes and reduces the number of damaged ones thanks to sideway digging. Some parts had been copied from leading foreign manufacturers but main parts and the framework are Belarus-made. The potato harvester had been designed by the Mechanization Research and Practice Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, too. In January-July 2010 Lidagroprommash turned out Br160 billion worth of products in comparable prices, 13.3% up on the year, while the targeted growth rate is set at 112.8%. The company turned out 166 grain harvesters and over 300 sowing tillage outfit as well as Br3 billion worth of spare parts. The company reduced import down to 61.4% as against January-July 2009. Lidagroprommash was founded using the local repairs plant in 1958. It was incorporated as a joint-stock company. At present Lidagroprommash is a major Belarusian manufacturer of agricultural machines. It offers grain harvesters, multi-purpose tillage outfits, sowing machines. The company employs over 1,000 people.