BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 14. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is boosting the share of non-primary products, thus increasing exports to third countries, Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov told reporters on the sidelines of the First Exporters Forum held in the capital, Trend reports referring to the ministry.
Sultanov commented on whether the sanctions against Russia affect Kazakhstan's exports.
"Sanctions didn't affect the country's exports, as mutual trade between the EAEU member states went up (over 20 percent) in the first quarter of 2022. The EAEU sees a surge in non-commodity exports to third countries, whereas export growth rates were high both in 2021 and 2022. This is an essential outcome of the support for industries," he stated. "There is a direct relationship between state support for production and the establishment of particular industries. The main task is to set up a system allowing to switch smoothly from production to the export".
He said that the Ministry of Trade and Integration has initiated a number of programs on export acceleration.
"The purpose is to bring out 100 new exporters every year for five to six years. Currently, we have 500 active exporters, which is a great achievement. Through such programs and with the help of state bodies, we want to bring the number of active exporters to 1,000 by 2025," said Sultanov.