ASTANA – In January-November, the gross agricultural output increased by 13.4% with an annual plan of 11.6% and reached 7.8 trillion tenge (US$14.9 billion), said Kazakh Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov at a Dec. 17 government meeting.
Photo credit: agbz.kz.
He noted that this growth was achieved due to an increase in production volumes in crop production by 19.9%, in livestock by 3.2%, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
“In crop production, with an average yield of 16.1 centners per hectare, 26.7 million tons of grain were threshed, including 19.8 million tons of wheat, 563,000 tons of rice. In addition, 2.9 million tons of potatoes, 3.9 million tons of vegetables, 3.2 million tons of oilseeds and 300,000 tons of cotton were harvested. In livestock farming, there was an increase in meat production in slaughter weight by 4%, cow’s milk by 4.4% and chicken eggs by 1.2%,” said Sultanov.
According to Sultanov, food output climbed by 2.1% over 11 months to nearly 3 trillion tenge (US$5.7 billion). The production of import-dependent items such as cheese and cottage cheese is up 8.7%, sausages by 4.1%, butter by 2.9%, and vegetable oil by 12%.
This year has also seen a record crop of sugar beets, which is nearing completion and will help to boost overall agricultural production.
