BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, October 3. A total of 2,656 tons of fish were exported from Kyrgyzstan from January through August 2023, which is 565 tons more than during the same period in 2022, Director of the Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan Edil Niyazov said, Trend reports.
He also talked about the state support provided to the fishery industry. “Last year, we exempted imported fish feed from VAT [value-added tax], resulting in a 12 percent reduction in the cost of fish production. This, in turn, has made the industry more competitive,” he said.
Additionally, he noted that Kyrgyzstan had four fish feed production facilities in the country, to which the privilege of importing raw materials without paying VAT was granted.
Minister of Agriculture Askarbek Dzhanibekov added that the government has allocated 1 billion soms ($11.2 million) for preferential loans to the fishery cluster.
According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, the gross output of agricultural, forestry, and fishing production in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 204.111 billion soms ($2.3 billion) from January through August 2023, which is 1.5 percent less than the same period in 2022.