Belarus, one of the world’s leading tractor manufacturing countries, recently announced plans to redirect its agricultural machinery exports to the African continent after the European Union blocked tractor imports from the Eastern European country on July 1.

However, EU restrictions were not the only factor behind the Belarusian government’s decision to shift exports to African countries.

Here are some facts about the demand for Belarusian technology in Africa:

In April 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko explained to representatives of Belarusian industry how the country could help the African continent achieve food security. He suggested building Belarusian agricultural machinery factories and assembly plants in African countries;

In September 2023, Minsk Tractor Works and the Ethiopian government began talks on resuming the assembly of Belarusian machinery in the East African country;

A Belarusian machinery assembly plant has been under construction in South Africa since last year;

Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria have been the largest buyers of Belarusian tractors on the African continent in recent years. The possibility of building an assembly plant in Sudan was also considered;

In recent years, Belarus has helped Zimbabwe achieve self-sufficiency in wheat production. A joint project in the field of agricultural mechanization allowed Harare to export its own wheat for the first time in history in 2023.