NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — Kazakhstan’s Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov, speaking at a government meeting last week, said that his ministry had begun updating the National Export Strategy, taking into account the new foreign trade challenges and business needs, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
In order to prevent a decrease in planned indicators of non-oil export volumes, as well as to search for new markets for Kazakhstan’s processed goods, a “single window” for exporters has been created on the basis of the Trade Policy Development Center — called QazTrade.
QazTrade will act as an agent between exporters and government agencies, and will also allow for a unified coordinated export policy, in which industry-specific government agencies, National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, KazakhExport and lobbyists will actively participate to promote Kazakhstani goods to foreign markets.
The minister called on akims (governors of Kazakhstan’s regions) “to concentrate on taking measures coordinated with the Ministry to support exporters and promote products manufactured in their regions.” Today, six regions of Kazakhstan account for 80% of the country’s export of processed goods.
According to the Ministry of Trade and Integration, about 40% of trade in Kazakhstan is in the “shadow,” i.e. not subject to taxation.
One of the mechanisms for withdrawing trade from the shadow is modernization of trade infrastructure, including trade markets. So, it is planned that all non-stationary markets will be gradually phased into modern trading formats.
Work is underway on the construction of wholesale distribution centers, which will allow delivering products from manufacturers to the population with a minimum margin and halving losses from improper storage and transportation.
The ministry is also working on the development of electronic commerce.
The ministry has adopted the “Roadmap for the Development of Electronic Commerce in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2019-2025,” which is aimed both at developing internal electronic commerce and promoting the export of goods through electronic commerce. The implementation of this Roadmap will increase the share of electronic commerce in total retail trade by 2025 to a minimum of 5%. Currently, work is underway to develop an electronic trading platform.
