In all major retail chains and smaller stores, as of yesterday, the first quantities of yeast are present, and in a state of emergency, our country has become a producer and exporter of this essential foodstuff from a country importing yeast, said Agriculture Minister Branislav Nedimovic.
Nedimovic said that the whole process of starting the production of yeast at a factory in Senta began last Saturday, and that production in Senta had already started on Sunday.
“We started the whole process on Saturday, and it was already Wednesday on the rafts. All that buying flour without yeast does not make much sense unless you are making yeast in domestic “partisan conditions”, Nedimovic told Tv Pink.
Everything we used to produce on our own, because of the consequences of bad privatizations, is now gone, the minister said on the fence that he did not want to talk about politics now.
He recalled that there is a plant in Senta that produces some elements for the Japanese market that are similar to yeast but it was not used for marketing on the Serbian market, no baker’s yeast was produced.
“I contacted the president immediately on Saturday with the manufacturers and production began immediately on Sunday. They had the equipment they installed, we organized everything”, the minister said, recalling that Serbia had been buying yeast from imports from Croatia and Hungary in the previous period.
Now 240 tonnes of yeast will be produced on a weekly basis, and delivery to 1,000 bakeries in bags of 10 and 15 kilograms has already started.
The first quantities of smaller packets of yeast in the box have also arrived in stores and retail chains.
“As of this morning, we have already reached Pirot, Prokuplje, Prijepolje, Leskovac”, Nedimovic said, pointing out that the export of yeast is forbidden at this time until the Serbian market is supplied, but there will be sufficient quantities to help Republika Srpska and its neighbors.
He thanked the management of the Senta yeast plant with whom he had recently spoken.
He says that at the moment there is a lack of a certain amount of molasses and sugar beets.
We have enough wheat and flour, Nedimovic said, adding that the distribution of flour and oil was agreed with the RS Ministry of Agriculture.
“It is very important for people to know that we have enough flour, sugar, oil, yeast”, Nedimovic said, pointing out that increased grocery shopping is a “psychological component of the corona” because people are afraid that they will run out of essential food items, for example, bakeries they work every day.
“At this time, we are becoming manufacturers from the importers of the corona problem. Imagine that when you turn a minus into a plus in a state of emergency”, Nedimovic pointed out, saying that there were enough other goods on the market.
Minister Nedimovic also said that all open markets are working with the recommendation that the counters be kept at an appropriate distance and that all given measures are respected.
“For now it works, I cannot know what it will be like in five days, but I see that there is a very good discipline inside”, Nedimovic said.
He said retirement assistance packages for other local governments were being prepared and that distribution was likely to begin next week.
Commenting on the opposition’s message that pensioners should be allowed to walk for one hour a day, Nedimovic said:
“I just can’t believe that anyone can say that. Imagine if everyone came out at one point…”.
Nedimovic also said that he had spoken with the director of the CC in Nis this morning and that today he would go with a new supply of sodium hypochlorite, a disinfectant produced in the water supply systems in Novi Sad, Sremska Mitrovica and Sid.
“Today we will deliver two tonnes of sodium hypochlorite concentrate to Nis, two tonnes to Kragujevac to the Clinical Center. That is enough for these CCs for a few days. Tomorrow we are going to deliver the 75% alcohol we have been making in the last few days in Aleksandrovac in Zupa and it will start in two liter packages”, the minister said.
He explains that alcohol distribution will go to Niš, Kragujevac, Hospital Dragisa Misovic, Zemun and Vojvodina.
Tomorrow morning, the distribution of the first 10,000 liters of this alcohol will start from Aleksandrovac, which is enough for KC Nis for two months.
“We have been using all our knowledge over the last 20 years to be practical. It is easiest to theorize, sit by twitter, facebook and just think of something”, Nedimovic said, recalling that many alcohol factories have disappeared in privatization.
Now, in this crisis situation, he says, he sees how important agriculture is and thanked the farmers for their work in preparing the fields for sowing.
Speaking about the coronavirus, he said he hoped that all measures and more tested would help and that if we “counterattack” we could hope for good news.
The minister says that at the entrance to the government, or ministries, they regularly measure the temperature of everyone who enters at the entrance.
He says self-discipline is important to protect both the personal health and the health of loved ones.
“If I am one of those (diseased) people, I know what is going on, you sign up where you need to go, you go where you need to, everything is very simple, so that my family and everyone we are in contact with is safe. This is about the lives of people and it is important for everyone to understand that”, Nedimovic said, Tanjug reports.
