Kazakhstan is able to declare itself as the country-producer of ecologically clean commodities
Kazakhstan is the significant player on the world agricultural market and in the certain segments it is the leader. Muslim Umiryaev, Vice Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to tell about the most significant events of the agricultural complex of the country happened in 2012, and also about the strategic plans of development in the nearest prospective.
- Muslim Tairovich, in the beginning of our conversation let us remind the most significant events of the passed 2012. What plans and the global projects in agriculture of the country had been realized?
In the passed year our task was to come over the drought and reach the crop rates able to satisfy the domestic demand and to strengthen our positions on the world market. The harvesting campaign was finished in time.
According to the statistics data of the Republic of Kazakhstan the harvested area of grains totaled 14.9 mln ha, the grain general production in clean weight totaled 12.8 mln tonnes, meanwhile the yield totaled 8.6 c/ha. The stated rate faced a decrease by 2 times of 2011, but still the harvested grain considering the carry-over stocks at the level of 9.8 mln tonnes satisfies the domestic demand of the country and provides the export potential at the level of 7 mln tonnes.
A lot of cattle-breeding enterprises now have the access to the credit resources and funds being provided as the subsidies within the state support and owing the provision of the maximum clearness of the way of receive of the financial funds and the administrative barriers remove.
- How do you estimate the investment climate into agriculture of Kazakhstan in 2012? What industries are the most attractive?
One of the priority tasks of the Ministry is the attractive of the investments into agricultural complex as the base element of the stable development of agriculture. The investments volumes into the main capital in agriculture in 12 months of 2012 increased by 19.6% and totaled 137.5 bln tenge in comparison with the same period of 2011.
In order to improve the investment attractiveness of agriculture it is very important to follow the current legislative base. In accordance with our Code of Land, the agricultural lands are in the long-term lease or in private use, meanwhile there is the institute of temporary use of land for the foreigners, i.e. the rent on the term of to 10 years. After the first term finishes it can be prolonged at will of lessee. The investors providing the investments into the fixed actives of Kazakhstan law person is being given the investment preferences: exemption from customs duties, provision with the state nature grants.
Besides, our government is improving the conditions for having business in Kazakhstan. In order to decrease the administrative and law barriers impede the entrepreneurship.
Kazakhstan is one of the leaders of the CIS countries by providing the favorable conditions for realization of investment activity.
Agrarian sector is one of the priority sectors of economics.
All the financial instruments stated above provide the active attraction of the investments intro agricultural complex of Kazakhstan, so the end effect of it is the agricultural commodities production volumes increase, some of them to be exported. Kazakhstan has the good location between European and Asian continents, which is stating about the large export potential of the country.
Kazakhstan has wide agricultural lands being produced grains, oilseeds and other crops. Thus in the recent 5 years (2008-2012) the grain annual production in Kazakhstan totaled 17.7 mln tonnes, meanwhile exports of grain including flour in grain totaled 8.2 mln tonnes. So the country is one of 10 leading world exporters of grain and has the consumers in nearly 40 countries.
The most significant is that Kazakhstan is able to assert oneself as the country-producer of ecologically clean commodities.
- What can you tell us about the new format of the program of the agricultural complex development in 2013-2020?
The Head of the country set up the new strategic purposes to be reached by changing the development strategy, having the new tasks and to develop the plan of the events.
There are four directions of the program purpose reach:
- financial recovery;
- improvement of availability of commodities, works and services for the subjects of agricultural complex;
- improvement of the state systems of the provision of the subjects of agricultural complex;
- improvement of the efficiency of the systems of state regulation of agricultural complex.
Program realization to create the favorable conditions for business development in the country, to provide the new investments into the industry, to improve the efficiency of the allocated budget funds.
- In December 2012 Kazakhstan joined free trade zone within the CIS. How will the fact impact on the agricultural complex development?
Free trade zone means the creation of the favorable conditions in order to increase the mutual trade including the agricultural commodities and by-products. Besides the entering of the domestic commodities the foreign markets without the administrative barriers to increase the domestic production volumes and to allow the commodities selling not on the domestic markets but the CIS as well.
- According to the statistics data the agricultural commodities production volumes in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2012 decreased by 20%. Can you explain it?
First of all the decrease is caused by drought negatively impacted on the growth and developing of agricultural crops.
- We talked about industry of agricultural complex in complex. Let us consider the plant growing industry, In 2012 Kazakhstan reduced the wheat planted areas of 2012/13 crop. This caused the grain production decrease in comparison with the previous record rate. Besides the situation was worsened by weather conditions played the key role in the wheat crop formation in the major countries-producers. How reasonable the stated policy was? Besides the experts do not expect the grain exports increase from Kazakhstan in 5 years. How can you comment that?
In accordance with the stated measures on diversification there is the wheat planted areas decrease to 12.2 mln ha by 2016 as opposed to 13.8 mln ha in 2011, so there is no overproduction of the crop and the country will be able to save the significant budget funds being allocated for wheat market regulation.
At the expense of the stated fact the country to increase the planted ares of other grain crops (grain feed, leguminous, cereals) to 3.5 mln ha in 2016 as opposed to 2.2 mln ha in 2011. In total the planted areas of grains to be stabilized by 2015 and reach the level of 16 mln ha as opposed to 16.2 mln ha in 2011.
There is also oilseeds areas increase by 146.2 thsd ha (8%), feed crops – by 1101.6 thsd ha (42%). Soybean areas to increase by 2 times, maize for grain – by 33%.
Considering the planned improvement of grain crops yield and at the expense of introduction of the modern agricultural technologies, new productive varieties, mineral fertilizers application volumes increase, grain exports and production decrease is not expected.
The capacity of the grain markets of Middle Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, being the traditional importers of Kazakh grain totals nearly 6-7 mln tonnes and is the limiting factor for grain exports increase.
- By the end of 2013 Kazakhstan plans to become the member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). What expectations are being laid on WTO by Kazakhstan and what significant changes in the agricultural complex of Kazakhstan there will be?
To date the country finishes the negotiations on the agriculture issues within the entering the WTO.
We should note that the measures taken by the government let to create the necessary conditions to develop the effective and competitive agricultural production process, widen the export opportunities and improve the life quality of rural population.
Interviewed by Elena Cherednichenko
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