Kazakhstan’s trade with its allies within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is growing, according to the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, outlining mineral products as dominant in the structure of the country’s exports.
“In January-February 2017, Kazakh mutual trade with the EAEU member countries was $2.5 billion, which is 56 percent more than in January-February 2016, including exports of $742 million (an increase by 42.6 percent), and imports of $1.8 million (62.2 percent more),” the official press release of the Kazakh Ministry of Energy said.
Kazakhstan’s exports are dominated by mineral products at 38.5 percent of the exports to the EAEC countries; metals and metal products, 34.8 percent; chemical products, 13.3 percent and animal and vegetable products along with easy-to-cook food products, 7.6 percent.
Among the imported goods from the EAEU there are chemicals at 23.0 percent; mineral products, 20.6 percent; machinery and equipment, 19.7 percent; metals and goods made of metal, 12 percent and 9 percent; products made of animals and vegetables and finished food products, 11.8 percent.
According to the official data, the EAEU has an integrated market of some 183 million people and a gross domestic product of more than $4 trillion. The EAEU allows a free movement of goods, capital, services and people and provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, transportation, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition and antitrust regulations.
There have been talks of introducing a single currency, however, no definitive agreement has been reached. The EAEU has supranational and intergovernmental institutions: the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) is the supreme body consisting of the heads of the member-states. The second level of intergovernmental institutions is represented by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council consisting of the prime ministers of the member-states.
The EAEU has been seeking ways to play a bigger role in trade with East Asia. EAEU representatives have thus far commenced talks for official trade cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). EAEU members have also agreed to step up talks to strengthen cooperation with China, including in a format of exchange on goods and services and to set up expert groups to develop preferential trade regimes with Israel and India. It already has a free trade agreement with Vietnam.
The EAEU member states are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Russia.
