ASTANA – Four agreements and a framework agreement on cooperation and trade with Food Corp. were signed between Kazakhstan and Chinese companies as part of a two-day visit to Beijing.
The Kazakh delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Askar Myrzakhmetov, discussed increasing quotas for Kazakh grain supply to China and strengthening investment cooperation with the Chinese committee to promote international trade and representatives of Chinese companies.
New directions for economic development, investing in Kazakhstan’s deep processing projects and expanding the supply of domestic food products to Chinese markets were on the agenda.
Negotiations were held with committee representatives. About 200,000 tonnes of food products from Kazakhstan were delivered to the Chinese market in 2014–2016 and the figures are expected to increase.
“We discussed the issue of the supply of Kazakh beef and mutton to Chinese markets. We agreed that all barriers in the way of our exports will be lifted before the end of this year,” said Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Deputy Board Chairperson Nurzhan Altayev.
Representatives of Macau Legend Development Ltd. discussed the prospects of constructing an enterprise in Kazakhstan for integrated processing of agricultural waste (straw). They agreed to organise a visit of Kazakh specialists to a similar operating enterprise in China.
A decision on joint cooperation with the China National Agricultural Development Group, a subsidiary of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, was also reached.
An agreement was signed with the China Certification & Inspection Group to collaborate on training farmers applying for pre-inspection to clarify the shortcomings and recommendations for removal prior to the official inspection by the General Directorate for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
Cooperation between KazAgro and the Silk Road Fund and the possibility of financing agro-industrial projects at the expense of the fund were discussed. Materials on large-scale expensive projects in the agro-industrial complex will be sent to the Chinese party.
China National Machinery Import & Export Co. announced it will hold a specialised exhibition on agricultural machinery in May.
Shandong Hi-speed Group expressed interest in constructing a plant for processing oilseeds and investing in various agricultural sector projects.
Wilmar International proposed expanding cooperation in trading grain and oilseeds and their processing products, mainly wheat and vegetable oils (rapeseed, linseed oil and sunflower oil).
A project to produce tomato paste is currently being carried out jointly with the Kofko Co. and the experiment on cultivating tomatoes will continue this year. The project is included in the list of 51 joint Kazakh-Chinese investment projects, with plant construction to start in 2018 in the Kyzylorda region.
