On March 19, 2020, negotiations were held between the Chairman of the Board of the National Agrarian Science and Educational Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NASEC) and CERES GmbH (Germany).
CERES GmbH is an international certification organization in the field of agriculture, food and organic textiles, certifying organic products.
CERES GmbH is accredited in the EU, USA, Japan and China, and has the right to carry out certification in accordance with the national laws and standards of these countries.
Certification is carried out according to the GLOBALGAP standard - good agricultural practices. This certificate is recognized worldwide and is a global partnership in agricultural practices.
CERES has clients in more than 60 countries, and also has a network of inspectors in 40 countries on all 5 continents.
The company is located in Happurg, district of Nürnberger, the federal state of Bavaria. The company is managed by 3 managers: Dr. Bernhard Schulz, Ulrich Findel and Albrecht Benzing.
The parties agreed that, as soon as possible, CERES representatives will come to Kazakhstan and a Memorandum will be signed between the NASEC and CERES. A joint venture with the participation of NASEC and CERES will also be created to certify Kazakhstan’s organic agricultural products. The joint venture will participate in the development of recommendations for improving Kazakhstani legislation in the field of organic agricultural products. The cooperation of the NASEC with CERES GmbH will provide comprehensive support to Kazakhstani agricultural producers.
Today, the price on international markets, for example, for grain crops - the main product of Kazakhstan's agricultural export, is about $ 280 per 1 ton. Kazakh farmers receive about 150 dollars from them. The remaining $ 130 is the cost of transportation through the territory of Russia, through the sea.
Certified organic crops cost around $ 400. That is, in total, the additional income of Kazakhstani farmers on cereals alone can amount to about 1 billion US dollars per year. For such crops as colza, flax and others, there is an increase in demand from European countries. Kazakhstan’s agricultural products are considered organic - since the fields are not processed by chemistry.
At the request of the German side, the joint venture will be located in the same office with the NASEC.
