ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan is to start exporting meat to China in the second half of this year, Deputy Agriculture Minister Gulmira Isayeva said at a recent briefing at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan reported on its website.
The Deputy Minister informed on the progress of negotiations on the supply of meat and other agricultural products from Kazakhstan to China.
The Deputy Minister said that today the first two stages of the process have already been passed: the documentary analysis and the audit of Kazakh veterinary services. “We clearly understand that the export of products will be started in the second half of 2016. We expect that within two months, these procedures will be completed and our farmers will deliver their products,” she said.
Isayeva said that Kazakh meat could be very competitive in the Chinese market. “We have an advantage — we can supply premium meat. This requires certification of production. We want to carry out this work quickly so that our meat be classified as organic. In China, meat is worth 6-8 USD [per kg] – it is a very good and attractive price for Kazakh producers, and the price would increase 3- to 5-fold with the label ‘organic’,” she said.
The Deputy Minister also said that Kazakhstan will export agricultural products to China under a single umbrella brand “Kazakh organic food”. “Why do we need an umbrella brand? It would be very difficult for one farmer to get to the Chinese market; we will need to win the trust of Chinese consumers. And when the Chinese get used to it in a few years, individual farmers would be able to enter the market,” she said.
According to Isayeva, in the fourth quarter of this year Kazakhstan will also start supplying honey to China.
