Kazakhstan to increase poultry meat import quota

Import quotas on frozen poultry meat in Kazakhstan may be increased from 74,200 tonnes to 110,000 tonnes in 2015, the Ministry of Economy of Kazakhstan announced. The increase of quotas is a response to the rising demand of the processing industry and growing consumption of imported goods.

At the same time, domestic poultry producers strongly oppose the initiative, as it may seriously hurt the position of locally based poultry farmers.

Large stocks of eggs and poultry

“It is unlikely that the government will increase quotas. The domestic poultry industry is facing a complicated situation. We have large stocks of eggs and poultry which right now can not be sold at the domestic market, for doubtful reasons” said the head of Rodina Agricultural Company Ivan Sauer. “Our products, which are of better quality than imported goods, can not be sold, while customers often camplain about the quality of imported poultry. In this situation it is pointless to give any trade preferences to imported frozen poultry meat.”

He also added that the in the current situation the global poultry market is in, the only way to stay competitive for Kazakhstan producers is to join their forces. “We need to consolidate. This is the only way for us to move forward.”