Kyrgyzstan and China have inaugurated a major new warehouse in the city of Ulugqat, located in China’s northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), near the Kyrgyz border.
The facility is designed to facilitate the export of Kyrgyz agricultural products to China, serving as a key logistics hub for cargo passing through the nearby Torugart and Irkeshtam border checkpoints.
At the opening ceremony on March 18, Bakyt Torobayev, Deputy Chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry, stated that the warehouse will improve logistics and ensure a reliable and uninterrupted supply of agricultural goods. In its initial phase, it will focus on the smooth transit of grain and legumes.
According to the Kyrgyz government’s press service, the warehouse is divided into four zones: vegetable storage, frozen storage, laboratory facilities, and general cargo. It has an annual processing capacity of more than 1 million tons. Future expansion plans aim to accommodate a broader range of agricultural products beyond grains and legumes.
During the ceremony, a deputy chairman of XUAR’s People’s Government emphasized China’s commitment to increasing imports of high-quality Kyrgyz agricultural products, in line with President Xi Jinping’s directives.
Official statistics show that in 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s agricultural exports to China reached $124 million. Of this, 8.6% consisted of livestock products, 19.4% crop products, and 72% processed food and agricultural goods.
Plans for a New Logistics Park
During his visit to Xinjiang, Torobayev also met with major Chinese companies in the province’s capital Urumqi to discuss a project for an international customs and logistics park, Golden Road Asia-Europe, in Kyrgyzstan’s Chui region.
Torobayev announced that Kyrgyzstan will allocate a land plot for the facility, which is expected to equally serve the export-import interests of both countries. The total investment in the project is estimated at $30 million.
Chinese Agricultural Equipment for Kyrgyzstan
Torobayev also held talks with a Chinese company specializing in agricultural drones and artificial precipitation technologies. As a result, the company agreed to provide Kyrgyzstan with agricultural equipment for artificial rain and pest control, valued at more than $1.1 million, on a grant basis.
