ASTANA – Several industries in Kazakhstan demonstrate stable import reductions and production growth. The manufacturing industry’s reliance on imported products has decreased by 7%, while production volumes have increased by 4%. Dependence on external supplies has been reduced in mechanical engineering and the production of metal and paper products, as was reported during an Aug. 13 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
Photo credit: primeminister.kz
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the government is carrying out systematic and comprehensive work in line with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s instructions to ensure a 60% share of Kazakh goods and services in the purchases of subsoil users, quasi-public, and public sectors.
“The government stands firmly on the position of economic patriotism. We will always support the Kazakh manufacturer. This is the task of each akim (mayor and governor) and sectoral ministers and its implementation is not of a recommendatory nature, but strictly mandatory,” Bektenov said.
The government’s work to support the domestic market is backed by legislative measures, including a newly signed law on public procurement, which tightens procurement requirements. The amendments further strengthen procurement controls by establishing a Unified Register of Commodity Producers. This register will include enterprises with established production capabilities and plans for future development, offering them priority access to state support.
Bektenov emphasized the need to intensify import substitution efforts through off-take contracts. This year, major entities such as Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and subsoil users have signed 382 long-term agreements and off-take contracts worth 635 billion tenge (US$1.3 billion), a record for recent years.
Additionally, lists of 4,201 types of goods, works, and services in light, machine building, chemical, and paper industries have been approved for priority participation in public procurement. Over the past seven months, the number of concluded contracts with domestic producers in these sectors increased 1.4 times compared to last year.
Bektenov also addressed the issue of duplicate catalogs for Kazakh goods, which have allowed imported products to be sold as domestic. The Ministry of Finance has developed an electronic public procurement catalog that meets international standards, and Bektenov instructed the analysis and elimination of redundant catalogs.
He also directed the development of an effective mechanism for monitoring the obligations of large contractors regarding the use of domestic raw materials, stressing that bypassing Kazakh-produced goods in favor of imports is unacceptable.
