SHANGHAI, CHINA — Zhengchang is planning for the second phase of the Belarusian agro-industrial complex, which is focused on grain processing and production of compound feeds and premixes.

The Belarusian National Biotechnological Corp. is the largest and unique agro-industrial complex in the Republic of Belarus and on the territory of the former USSR. The modern, high-tech project is focused on export and import substitution.

Part of the complex are the factories created by Zhengchang, including: silos for cleaning and grain storage; conveyor system for moving grain to feed mills; production of compound feeds for cattle and poultry; and production of compound feeds for pigs.

Initially, raw grain is delivered by rail and motor transport to the silos. Unloading is carried out in accordance with the quality, type, batch of raw materials. The meal is delivered by rail directly to the operational bin. To obtain a ready-made balanced feed, the plant for production of compound feeds for cattle and poultry provides for successive stages of the production process.

The first stage includes the production of loose compound feed. At this plant, it is carried out in two sections for poultry and cattle.

Grain supplied from operational tanks is cleaned from metal-magnetic impurities, and moved to the mill. The purified raw materials are milled and moved to dosing and mixing.

Liquid components for dosing and milling from operational tanks include two sections of oil; molasses for section B only; and liquid methionine for section A only. The dosing of micro-components for mixing are completed manually.

“Production parameters: mixing, pelleting are perfectly adjusted,” said Anastasia Chaiko, head of poultry and cattle line. “The high-tech equipment of the Zhengchang company is mainly used. This makes possibility to produce high-quality products and also supply it abroad.”

In the second stage, the feed is pelleted. First, the feed is cleaned from large and metal-magnetic impurities followed by steam treatment at certain parameters of temperature and steam pressure.

This step is followed by the pelleting and cooling process. If required by the customer, the pellets are ground into grits.

Pellets are sifted to obtain a high-quality commercial type feed. Ready-made pellets (or grits) are served for packaging in bags and big bags or to the point of bulk shipment. Bags are laid on pallets robotically.

“The plant for the production of compound feeds for pigs is similar in type of equipment and technological processes,” said Konstantin Gordeev, head of pig line. “It differs in the number of production lines and the presence of an extruder.”

Advantages of the extruder include economy, high digestibility of feed, stimulation of growth and strengthening of immunity and hygiene of feeding.

The process of pelleting compound feed for pigs begins with the supply of loose compound feed to an air conditioner mixer for steam treatment.

Then the moistened feed enters the pellet mill and passes through the holes of the die under pressure and high temperature. Dense pellets are formed and moved onto the cooler. The pellets are cooled by air and moved by means of a chain conveyor to the hopper of the finished product.

The final process is loading pelleted feed into vehicles.

“All processes of production of compound feed for pigs are carried out automatically from the control panel,” said Vyacheslav Rai, Zhengchang representative.

The Belarusian National Biotechnological Corp. can produce almost any recipe and most of the main raw materials are located in Belarus.

“The advantages of our plants are their almost full automation,” the company said. “All this, of course, is influenced on the cost of our products: it is much lower than the national average. Modern equipment allows precise dosing of all components. Thus, the customer gets what he ordered.”

The complex can currently store more than 400,000 tonnes of grain. This ensures the smooth operation of the entire plant, officials said.

“Cooperation between Belarus and China, the implementation of such a unique and large-scale project as the BNBC is a new, innovative step in the development of the agricultural industry of the Republic of Belarus,” officials said. “The Zhengchang company has made a significant contribution to the implementation of the project. It is the first enterprise of this level and scale in our country: high-tech and efficient.”