The sugar industry in Kazakhstan will receive investments of 495 billion tenge
The sugar industry is a strategically important sector of agriculture in Kazakhstan. To develop it, the government has drawn up a large-scale program, under which investments of 495 billion tenges will be allocated. According to the new strategy, sugar production should be more than 250 thousand tons per year by 2026.
According to the development plan, the government will allocate special subsidies for the material and technical sector of the market, amounting to 168 billion tenges. These funds will be used to modernize facilities. In addition, about 39 billion tenges will replenish the funds in the accounts of enterprises in the sugar industry. The Government is confident that the new development plan will make it possible to modernize the sugar industry and increase its efficiency. Besides the goal to produce 250 thousand tons of sugar annually, the authors of the program want to reduce purchases of raw materials on the world market to 17% from the current 58% by 2026. This goal will be achieved by increasing the processing of local raw materials, its volume should rise to 43%, and now its share is 7%.
In order to achieve the plan, it will be necessary to increase the area under sugar beet cultivation, as well as to improve the irrigation system. For this purpose, the authors of the project want to introduce new water-saving mechanisms for irrigation. In addition, one of the objectives is the development of the local seed sector, which will reduce imports of raw materials. Besides, sugar beet processing plants require complex modernization; they will replace equipment and optimize processes. The government also plans the construction of new facilities with modern industrial lines.
The Government of Kazakhstan notes that at the moment there are no problems with the availability of sugar on the market. Stocks of the product are regularly replenished in all regions of the country, thanks to which there is no rush and panic on the part of the population. The authorities have also strengthened control over the sugar pricing processes, which allowed for the timely suppression of speculation and fraudulent schemes on the part of intermediaries.
Implementation of a comprehensive plan has already begun, for this purpose, the relevant ministry is working closely with the relevant authorities in the regions and industry representatives. To solve the issues with preferential crediting of sugar enterprises the authorities connected Baiterek Holding. Designated funds will allow factories to conduct necessary modernization, and part of them will go on purchasing raw materials. Besides, the authors of the project also prepare a list of counter liabilities for enterprises, due to which it will be possible to avoid instability of product prices. At the moment the ministry is working on the introduction of minimum prices for retail sales of sugar. This step will prevent dumping in the domestic market as well as protect its participants from non-competitive actions.
