ASTANA (TCA) — At the Government meeting on June 12, Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Timur Suleimenov reported on the country’s socio-economic development during the first five months of 2018, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
According to Suleimenov, GDP growth for the first five months of this year amounted to 3.9%. Economic recovery is taking place because of the increased investment activity and a slowdown in inflationary processes.
It was noted that inflation is fixed at 6.2%, which is the lowest value for the last three years.
The production in mining and quarrying industries increased by 5.6% due to the growth in the natural gas production by 6.5%, crude oil — by 6.4%, iron ore — by 6%. In manufacturing, there was an increase by 5.5% due to growth in the production of paper and paper products by 14.4%, chemical industry — by 11.2%, tobacco products — by 10.5%, beverages — by 8.1%, food products — 6.3%. Also, the indicators grew in the machine building industry by 12.2%, in furniture production — by 6.6%. The volume of agriculture remained at a positive mark of 3.9%. The increase was the result of the steady growth in livestock production by 4%.
“Investments in fixed assets have increased by 25.3% since the beginning of this year. This is the result of the modernization of the Shymkent Oil Refinery and the implementation of the project of future expansion at the Tengiz field,” Suleimenov emphasized.
Foreign trade turnover shows significant growth. For the first quarter of this year, the indicators increased by 24.3% — $21 billion. Export indicators grew by 27%. At the same time, the increase in exports of non-primary goods amounted to 11.2%.
Also, the positive dynamics of labor market indicators was noted. Since the beginning of this year, 134.8 thousand people have been employed in the country.
