BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.12
Trend:
Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy Asset Irgaliyev spoke about the results of the country’s socio-economic development for the first quarter of 2021 at a governmental meeting held on Apr.12 under the chairmanship of the country’s Prime Minister Askar Mamin, Trend reports citing the ministry.
According to the minister, the results of the first quarter of this year showed an improvement in macroeconomic indicators.
“In the real sector, excluding mining, growth accelerated to 7.9 percent. Fixed capital investments excluding mining increased by 34 percent. Annual inflation has slowed to 7 percent. Most of the branches of the real sector have shown steady growth. These are construction, water supply, manufacturing, electricity and agriculture. There is also an increase in the sphere of information and communication by 9.9 percent,” Irgaliyev noted.
Consequently, the GDP growth rate improved from minus 2.9 percent in the first 2 months to minus 1.6 percent in the first quarter, the minister said.
Growth rates accelerated in mechanical engineering by 21.8 percent, automotive industry - 20.7 percent, production of building materials - 30.1 percent, chemical products - 14.2 percent, plastic products - 22.3 percent, clothing - 25.8 percent, furniture - 19.2 percent, pharmaceuticals - 9.1 percent, Irgaliyev added.
“In the manufacturing industry, the upward trend continues - an increase of 7.5 percent. Some 13 regions of the country showed positive growth. The largest increase is observed in the city of Nur-Sultan - due to an increase in the production of concrete, refined gold, railway cars and locomotives, in Almaty - due to an increase in the production of metal structures, buses and concrete, in the Almaty region - due to an increase in the production of tobacco products and batteries,” the minister stressed.
According to Irgaliyev, investments in the manufacturing industry increased by 2.4 times, information and communications by 63 percent, agriculture - by 55 percent, transport - by 42 percent, construction - by 39 percent, trade by 29 percent and real estate transactions - by 16 percent.
“The volume of completed construction work has increased by 13.1 percent. High growth is observed in the Turkestan region, North Kazakhstan regions and in the city of Almaty. In the first quarter, 2.9 million square meters of housing were commissioned, which is 8.6 percent more compared to the same period of 2020,” the minister added.
“In agriculture, sustained growth was 2.8 percent. Positive dynamics is observed in 13 regions. The greatest growth was shown by the Akmola region - due to an increase in the slaughter of livestock and poultry, milk production,” he added.
Irgaliyev suggested the central and local government agencies to focus on active measures to stimulate the economy, which will support economic activity in the current environment.
"To support entrepreneurs, it is necessary to create a pool of SME projects for concessional lending within business support programs, actively conclude investment agreements with large companies, timely and efficiently carry out spring fieldwork, curb the rise in prices for socially significant food products and create permanent jobs," added Irgaliyev.