ASTANA – Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeyev said during a Feb. 27 meeting with top EU officials in Brussels that Kazakhstan is ready to expand trade and economic partnership with the European Union, reported the ministry’s press service.
During talks with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, the sides discussed exporting Kazakh fish products to the EU countries. Kazakhstan has reached commercial agreements with France and Switzerland to purchase domestic fish products.
Last year, Kazakhstan increased its fish exports to the EU countries by 1.5 times to 8,700 tons. The main consumers included Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.
Karashukeyev noted Kazakhstan has every opportunity to become a supplier of high-quality organic food, such as honey, horse meat, beef, and dairy products.
During the meeting with the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, the sides discussed the development of trade between Kazakhstan and the EU.
According to Karashukeyev, the amendments to the European regulations on the prohibition of the use of antimicrobial drugs for preventive purposes that came into force this year create difficulties in exporting breeding stock from European countries to Kazakhstan.
To resolve this issue, he proposed amendments to bilateral veterinary certificates and noted the need to develop joint measures to minimize the risks of bringing animal diseases into Kazakhstan. Within the framework of livestock development programs, 57,000 heads of breeding cattle were imported into Kazakhstan from the EU countries for breeding.
The EU accounts for nearly 30 percent of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade. In 2022, the turnover of agricultural products increased by 35.6 percent and reached $995.5 million. Kazakhstan increased the export of flax, wheat, rapeseed, and processed cereals.
Source: Astana Times