Kazakhstan intends to strengthen cooperation in the agricultural sector with China's Shandong Province. The parties reached the corresponding agreements during the meeting between Kazakhstan's Minister of Agriculture, Yerbol Karashukeyev, and Lin Wu, the Communist Party Secretary of Shandong Province, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture reported.
Shandong ranks as the fourth province in terms of trade volume with Kazakhstan, following XUAR, Beijing, and Gansu Province. The trade turnover reached $2 billion last year, and Minister Yerbol Karashukeyev expressed confidence that this figure can grow further. Kazakhstan is ready to offer a wide range of high-quality agricultural products, including the potential to increase annual grain shipments to 1 million tonnes and sell chilled meat products to China.
The first batch of 1.3 thousand tons of Kazakhstan’s grain departed from Almaty to Jinan city on a new cargo container train. This event marks the opening of the Shandong Logistics Center in Almaty, situated at the Burunday station.
Furthermore, plans to increase agricultural product deliveries were solidified through a memorandum signed between Prodkorporatsiya and Binzhou Zhongyu Foods, which outlines the export of 200 thousand tons of domestic grain to China.
During the meeting, both parties discussed joint scientific activities in the agro-industrial complex between Kazakhstan and Shandong. The Minister of Agriculture highlighted the presence of agrarian universities in Kazakhstan and their research directions. In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a draft Comprehensive Plan for the development of breeding and primary seed production of crops. Its main objective is the creation of new market-competitive high-yield varieties.
The Minister of Agriculture also emphasized the need to enhance academic mobility, and offer scientific internships for teaching staff, researchers from research institutes, and university students. These intentions were formalized through a memorandum between the Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The institutes will collaborate on research and development in seed production.
In conclusion, Minister Karashukeyev once again encouraged Chinese businessmen to consider opening joint processing enterprises in Kazakhstan, underscoring Kazakhstan's strong commitment to processing agricultural products.
From January to June 2023, the trade turnover of agricultural products between Kazakhstan and China amounted to $578.5 million, representing a 72.7% increase compared to the same period in 2022. The primary exports to China include cereals and various types of oil, while Kazakhstan imports vegetables and nuts.