According to Nazguli Khatepova, director of the Agricultural Products Market and Processing Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, there are currently 350 enterprises engaged in grain processing in Kazakhstan, producing flour, grits, noodles and other products. The flour production (3.2 million tons) exceeds the domestic consumption, and the export volume (1.9 million tons) ranks among the top in the world. The production of pasta, candy, starch products, bran, biofuels and other products is also developing.
To encourage the development of the industry, (the government) provides investment subsidies (up to 50%), loans and tax incentives, and subsidies for export transportation costs. Active work is currently underway to expand the export of grain processing products to the Chinese market. Nazguli Khatepova said.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that according to the "Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Agricultural Products Processing Industry in 2024-2028" approved by the government, it is planned to increase grain production by 1.4 times by 2028, and the share of agricultural products processing will reach 70%.
From January to September 2024, Kazakhstan produced 2.4 million tons of grain products. trillion tenge, an increase of 0.8% compared with the same period in 2023. The production of dairy products, sugar and vegetable oils increased.
By the end of 2023, Kazakhstan's grain production increased by 2.1% to 3.1 trillion tenge. The total export of agricultural products was $5.3 billion, and the share of processed products rose to 43%, reaching $2.2 billion.
Investment flowing into the industry continues to grow. In 2023, the total investment in fixed assets for food production was 156 billion tenge, an increase of 11% year-on-year. In terms of agricultural product processing, 48 investment projects were implemented with an investment amount of 111.8 billion tenge. These achievements are attributed to the effective support measures of the state, including investment subsidies, raw material subsidies and tax incentives. Nazgul Khatipova said.
Currently, there are 80 enterprises engaged in oilseed processing in Kazakhstan. In 2023, these enterprises produced 672,000 tons of vegetable oil, significantly exceeding domestic consumption (368,000 tons). Production is expected to increase to 750,000 tons this year.