Under the poultry industry development plan recently presented by Kazakhstan’s Agricultural Ministry, at least 29 poultry farms with a nameplate capacity of 220,000 tonnes of broiler meat per year are scheduled to be built in the country in the next 2 years.
The Ministry reported that new capacities are set to be established in 12 out of 17 Kazakhstan regions. Overall investments are estimated at KZT440 billion (US$830 million), of which KZT262 billion (US$495 million) will be borrowed funds.
Poultry is one of the 5 food products on which Kazakhstan has yet to achieve self-sufficiency, said the agricultural minister Aidarbek Saparov. The country also imports large quantities of sugar, cheese, sausages and fish, he added.
The poultry industry development plan, which is part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at lowering dependence on food imports in the coming years, involves 780 investment projects with a total worth of KZT2.3 trillion (US$4.3 billion), Saparov added.
The Kazakhstan government also plans to facilitate investments in food storage infrastructure to bolster food security. In the coming 2 years, 92 food storage facilities with a capacity of 690,000 tonnes are due to be launched into service in the country.
Lowering costs
Additional quantities will be sufficient to allow Kazakhstan to fully abandon poultry imports. During the first 9 months of 2024, the country imported 110,500 tonnes of poultry worth US$147.8 million, the official data indicated. In addition, Kazakhstan has started exploring export opportunities offered primarily by neighbouring Central Asian republics. During the first 9 months of 2024, the country exported 35,300 tonnes of poultry worth US$58.3 million.
However, production costs are relatively high in the Kazakhstan poultry industry, which imperils development opportunities, Rimma Gakhova, a local analyst, told local publication Karavan. The average cost of 1 kg of broiler meat production in Kazakhstan reaches US$1.5, against US$1.2 in Belarus and Brazil and US$1.1 in China, she reported.
“Until we lower production costs, we can forget about reducing imports and having a serious position on the foreign market,” said Gakhova. “Expensive feed, high logistics costs, lack of access to modern equipment and technologies – all this makes farmers’ products uncompetitive,” Gakhova added, also indicating the high cost of borrowed money in Kazakhstan and a lack of state support in obtaining soft bank loans. “Kazakhstan has a long and difficult road to go to become a competitive player in the global meat market,” she concluded.
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