The Kazakh government, in collaboration with local market participants, has launched an accelerator at the Trade Policy Development Center (QazTrade) to structure niche trade flows, QazMonitor reports.
What happened: On May 21, Trade Minister Arman Shakkaliyev announced at a government meeting in Astana that his Ministry will coordinate with development institutions to facilitate the operation of the trade accelerator at QazTrade. This initiative will be preceded by the conclusion of long-term supply contracts, which include advance payments for the forward purchase of a guaranteed volume of export products.
The Trade Ministry considers China's market as the primary focus of exports, alongside Central Asia, the EAEU, and the EU.
In response to the ongoing mass floods and the government's cost-cutting policy, the Trade Ministry plans to utilize extra-budgetary funding from Baiterek Holding and its subsidiary, the Export Credit Agency of Kazakhstan.
Based on the experience of advanced economies, an Export Credit Agency was established this year. It offers business entities a range of insurance and financial support measures at all stages of the export cycle. To reduce the dependence of export flows on external factors, these financial measures will be oriented towards supporting goods with deeper processing.
Currently, QazTrade annually serves over 450 companies intending to improve the international recognition of Kazakh products. Over the past three years, exports have increased 2.2 times for vegetable oils and fats, 1.7 times for fertilizers, and 4.4 times for mutton. According to the Ministry’s calculations, for every ₸1 spent on export support, ₸500 in export proceeds are generated.
However, the average annual volume of support for service goods and services is about ₸2.3 billion, or $5 million, which is 0.02% of non-resource exports. In comparison, the average figure for countries with similar [to Kazakhstan] economies is 0.11%, or $30.3 million.