BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.28
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture offers investment subsidies in the amount of 25 percent to stimulate entrepreneurs to build vegetable storages, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov said, Trend reports with reference to the press office of Kazakhstan’s prime minister.
Omarov said that the existing raw material base does not ensure uniform supply of high-quality raw materials during the year due to the underdeveloped trade and logistics system, there are practically no facilities for pre-sale preparation of goods.
In general, he said, an insufficient level of integration into the sales system hinders the development of local production. He added that the warehouse infrastructure for the storage of fruit and vegetables and food products is not sufficiently developed in some Kazakh regions.
“According to preliminary data from local akimats (administrative centers), there are 1,249 fruit and vegetable storages the total capacity of which is 1.9 million tons, which is not enough to ensure storage of produced goods. Given the production volume of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, beets in 2019 at 6.7 million tons and the need to store vegetables until the next harvest both for local consumption and export, have specialized capacities of about 2.8 million tons are required,” Omarov said.
For its part, he said, the Agriculture Ministry is taking measures to increase production of fruit and vegetables through introduction of new technologies, use of quality seeds and seedlings, expansion of irrigated land, use of modern irrigation machines. The ministry is also taking measures directed at development, expansion and modernization of vegetable storage capacities, which is an integral part of trade and logistics infrastructure.
“To stimulate entrepreneurs to build vegetable storages, the ministry has provided investment subsidies in the amount of 25 percent, as well as concessional lending under the “Economy of Simple Things’ program,” the minister said.
He added that development of trade and logistics infrastructure through the creation of a network of wholesale distribution centers would reduce loss of agricultural products after harvest, exclusion of unproductive intermediaries, expand access of agricultural producers to distribution networks, and increase in sales of agricultural products both on the local market and in countries of export.
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