NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan plans to attract nearly five trillion tenge (US$11.6 billion) of investments in agriculture in the next five years in an effort to boost export potential and saturate the domestic market, said Kazakh Agriculture Minister Saparkhan Omarov at an Oct. 6 government meeting. 

The nation’s plan to saturate its market with domestic food products by 2025 envisions 380 investment projects with more than five trillion tenge (US$11.6 billion) of investments. This will allow for the development of seven ecosystems of priority food products – meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, sugar, cereals, oilseeds, and dairy products.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Kazakhstan has huge potential to turn into a global food hub, along with the United States, Australia, Brazil and Argentina, said Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin.

Kazakhstan is currently self-sufficient in 23 out of 29 basic food products, and 100 percent self-sufficient in 12 products, said the minister.  

The nation plans to launch new plants for the remaining six products, which are poultry meat, sausage products, cheese and curd, apples, sugar and fish.

Mamin instructed his department to adopt the plan by the end of the month and told the government to consider expanding state support measures.  

The government currently provides 47 subsidies in 16 areas, as well as preferential lending and tax preference. Mamin said investments in fixed capital in food production grew 25.4 percent in the first eight months of 2020 compared to 2019, reaching 54.7 billion tenge.

Mamin also thanked agricultural producers for their timely completion of the harvest. 

Omarov stated that this year’s harvest meets the domestic demand and also export needs. The export potential of Kazakh grains is estimated at 7-8 million tonnes. 

“This year, the harvesting work finished a month earlier compared to the previous year due to favorable weather conditions and the technical capacity of agricultural producers. Grain elevators received one million tonnes more than last year and 80 percent meets the highest quality standards,” said Omarov. 

Source of information: https://astanatimes.com/2020/10/kazakhstan-seeks-to-attract-nearly-12-billion-in-agribusiness-investment-in-next-five-years/