ASTANA – Kazakhstan is set to bring grain exports to China to one million tons per year and increase the number of companies supplying meat, Kazakh Agriculture Minister Yerbol Karashukeyev said at the meetings with China’s leading agricultural companies in Beijing, the ministry’s press service reported on May 11.
Photo credit: eurasianet.org.
Karashukeyev outlined broad prospects for growth and cooperation in the agro-industrial complex and plans to establish direct contacts between the countries’ business communities.
The minister offered China’s COFCO food processing holding company and CITIC Group investment company to supply grain through Kazakh companies with significant grain reserves that can deliver the volumes and quality of grain required for export. He assured that the ministry would assist in promptly resolving logistics problems if they arise.
“The border cities of Alashankou and Khorgos have terminals that can receive up to 10,000 tons of grain cargo daily,” he noted.
Karashukeyev also met with representatives of the China Meat Association to discuss plans of Kazakh enterprises to resume exports of frozen lamb, beef and pork as soon as possible. He added that domestic factories are ready to supply chilled meat and fish, poultry meat, eggs, among other products.
The minister discussed the development of accredited domestic meat processing plants for export to China, noting that 13 more companies can expand the list.
Karashukeyev announced that the Turkistan Region plans to build a modern meat processing factory with a slaughter capacity of up to 1,500 heads of cattle per day, an offal processing plant, and create a large livestock trading platform.
Last year, Kazakhstan produced 1.06 million tons of meat. The leading buyers were Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
