The food market of Kazakhstan has overcome the crisis, said representatives of one of the world's largest food producers at a press conference in Almaty, Caspionet reported.
Kazakhstan's market of chocolate and chocolate products is being characterized by a highly competitive level of domestic producers and foreign companies in 2011. It is difficult to classify confectionery as essential goods, however, the amount and structure of their consumption quite eloquently illustrates the level of people's welfare.
As Kazakhstan is overcoming the crisis consequences, the consumption of confectionary products is increasing and last year, for example, the country residents consumed about 200 tons of chocolate and chocolate products.
"It's a sign that people started spending more on food products and it's good for us. We are aware that people now save less on food, confectionary, and coffee. The growth made up 16% in the first quarter, which means that people started buying more of those products", Mark Pothast, Nestle manager for Eurasia said.
The structure of consumption is changing in favor of more expensive products within the context of growth of people's income in Kazakhstan. However, according to market participants, an outlined trend of saving money affected preferences of consumers, the majority of whom mostly opt for discount products.
"There is a segment of population who looks for good deals, discounts, and cost- effective packages. Sales are growing. People started visiting supermarkets and discount centers more frequently", Pothast said.
Every country's market is characterized by its own peculiarities, and the sector of sweet products demonstrates a fairly high rate in Kazakhstan, especially in southern regions, where sweets are traditionally one of the main components of a festive table. At the same time, the republic is believed to be a country of tea, as the coffee consumption is much lower than that of tea.