ASTANA (TCA) — Domestic producers now meet 95 percent of the Kazakh population’s needs for basic food products, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported citing Deputy Agriculture Minister Gulmira Isayeva.
“We cover 95-96 percent of the need for basic foods,” Isayeva said during the visit to the trade and exhibition hall of Kazakh goods “Brand of Nation”.
In her words, there is certain dependence on imports of several types of products, including apples.
“We have launched a program on intensive development of gardens, to increase the production of apples in Kazakhstan,” the deputy minister said. “We are now subsidizing sugar producers. We have a program to subsidize the costs for agricultural producers engaged in the production of sugar beet and its processing. We have a large import dependence on fish. At the moment we have begun implementing the first stage of a master plan on aquaculture, to increase the production of fish in artificial ponds and in rivers.”
The first “Brand of Nation” food market opened in March in the Kazakh capital Astana, which sells domestically-produced food only.
Prices in the store are 10-15 percent lower than in other stores because it works directly with producers.
The store sells products from about 50 Kazakh producers from different regions of Kazakhstan.
There will be a network of similar shops all over Kazakhstan.
