BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 18. Kazakhstan’s “QazTrade” Trade Policy Development Center reached an agreement on launching a joint Kazakh-Uzbek trade company in Uzbekistan, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan.
Nuraly Bukeykhanov, QazTrade Director General, said that the newly registered “UZKAZTRADE” will be administered jointly by QazTrade and their Uzbek counterparts from UzTrade.
He added that the key objective of the company is to supply Kazakh markets with more affordable fruits and vegetables by eliminating unnecessary middlemen. The company will also streamline Kazakh exports of flour, fruits, vegetables, and oil products to Uzbekistan.
It was also noted that the first agreement with Uzbekistan on the supply of agricultural products to Kazakhstan has already been reached.
“It is important to note that the company will not generate profit. A small markup will be applied to cover the administrative costs. However, considering the scale of supplies, this markup will not affect the final price of the imported products”, Bukeykhanov said.
It was also revealed that QazTrade is close to launching a similar joint venture in Lahore, Pakistan. QazTrade is also working on establishing a joint company in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
QazTrade, established in 2006, aims to assist Kazakh businesses in expanding their operations and creating opportunities for international cooperation. QazTrade studies and identifies issues of the nationwide trading system and takes part in the implementation of the trade policy of Kazakhstan.