The Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aidarbek Saparov met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao. The parties discussed the prospects for cooperation between the two states.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture noted that cooperation in the field of agriculture is an important component of Kazakh-Chinese relations, which is supported by positive dynamics in trade in agricultural products between the countries. Thus, in 2023, the trade turnover of agricultural products increased 1.6 times and amounted to more than $1.3 billion. In addition, in recent years, the demand for consumption of organic and environmentally friendly Kazakh agricultural products has been growing among the Chinese population. Exports of agricultural products to China, which in 2023 almost doubled and amounted to $1.01 billion.

“The Chinese market is also of great interest for the export of Kazakh grain. We have the potential to increase annual supply volumes to 2 million tons,” emphasized Aidarbek Saparov.

The minister asked Zhang Xiao to assist in accelerating the coordination and signing of bilateral agreements on the export of new types of goods this year. These are chilled meat, poultry products, offal, beet pulp and potatoes.

Also, Aidarbek Saparov appealed to the ambassador for assistance in considering the issue of accreditation of new Kazakh enterprises for the production of livestock products for export to China.

Aidarbek Saparov expressed gratitude to the Government of China for agreeing to transfer laboratory equipment for inspection of the quality of agricultural products.Kazakhstan is ready, together with the Chinese side, to discuss mechanisms for the transfer of equipment for its speedy delivery to Kazakhstan.

Also, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture invited Chinese businessmen to organize joint projects for the production and deep processing of agricultural products and food products, including on the principles of production cooperation. According to the minister, the Government of Kazakhstan will create conditions for joint work.

In turn, Zhang Xiao assured the minister that China is ready to cooperate to ensure continuous imports of meat, grain and other agricultural products from Kazakhstan. Considering the size of the Chinese market, there is potential to increase imports from Kazakhstan.

In addition, the PRC proposes to take control of the work on creating a Subcommittee on Cooperation in the Agro-Industrial Complex. The platform will make it possible to organize joint visits on a regular basis and establish permanent direct contacts between the authorized departments of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China on current issues of the agricultural industry. The draft Charter has already been developed, and the Chinese side proposed signing it at a meeting of ministers of the SCO member countries, which will be held in May in Kazakhstan. Zhang Xiao also made a proposal to build a modern meat processing plant in North Kazakhstan, equipped with new technologies.

Following the meeting, both sides expressed confidence that the negotiations would further strengthen cooperation in the field of agriculture between Kazakhstan and China.

gov.kz official Internet resource