ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 31. Kazakh companies produced 174,900 tons of cane or beet sugar and molasses from January through July 2023, Trend reports.
Compared to the same period of the previous year, production decreased by 7 percent. This follows the previous year, when an 18 percent increase in production was recorded.
Imports of cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose in solid state amounted to 278,800 tons from January through June 2023, almost a third more year-on-year. The main suppliers of sugar to Kazakhstan remain Russia and Brazil. At the same time, the volume of sugar imports from Russia increased two times, reaching 157,700 tons, while the volume of imports from Brazil increased by only 3 percent to 111,900 tons.
Last year there was a "sugar crisis" caused by a ban on sugar exports from Russia, which is the main supplier of sugar and raw materials for its production in Kazakhstan. Disagreements between the Ministry of Trade and Integration and the Ministry of Agriculture over sugar and its shortage contributed to panic and high sugar prices.
According to data for July 2023, sugar prices decreased by 1 percent for the month. During the current year, sugar prices only showed a slight increase of 0.5 percent in June. Compared to July last year, prices fell by 16 percent. In different regions of Kazakhstan, there is a decline in sugar prices. The most noticeable decrease in prices was recorded in Almaty (by 22 percent), Zhambyl (by 21 percent), and West Kazakhstan (by 21 percent) regions. In terms of annual dynamics, the most insignificant decrease in prices is observed in Astana (by 4 percent) and the North-Kazakhstan region (by 6 percent).