On July 17, Kazakhstan’s minister for agriculture Aidarbek Saparov met with the heads of the Chinese companies CITIC Construction and Beijing Capital Agro. Following this meeting, Kazakh agro-industrial companies have signed three contracts with their Chinese counterparts to export meat and live cattle to China for $75 million.
Beijing Capital Agro intends to invest more than $600 million in Kazakhstan’s beef production by 2030. As part of the project, cattle feedlots will be created in Kazakhstan.
Emphasizing the importance of the Kazakh-Chinese partnership in agriculture, Saparov said: “China is one of our three largest agricultural trading partners. In 2023, the trade turnover of agricultural products between Kazakhstan and China amounted to $1.3 billion, 67% more than in 2022. Exports of Kazakh agricultural products to China have doubled and reached $1 billion. Grain and oilseeds account for most of the export volume to China, but we see a big potential for increasing export volumes with livestock products.”
Kazakhstan has all the conditions for the production of environmentally friendly meat products. This year, the area under fodder crops has been expanded by 314,000 hectares. This contributes to the development of livestock farming, including poultry farming and dairy and beef cattle breeding.
In February 2024, China’s government lifted restrictions on importing meat products from Kazakhstan. This allowed for the resumption of the export of meat from Kazakhstan, with the first batch of beef exported to China in June.
