In June 2024, the first Kazakh-Chinese grain forum will be held in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. As Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin noted at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Liu Guozhong, the forum will be a significant step towards strengthening cooperation in the supply of grain from Kazakhstan to China. This was reported by the government press service.
The grain forum will be attended by representatives of Kazakh and Chinese businesses, government agencies and state-owned companies of the two countries involved in regulating the export/import of grain and its processed products.
At the meeting, Serik Zhumangarin and Liu Guozhong noted significant steps towards barrier-free trade. First of all, this is the lifting of restrictions on foot-and-mouth disease in February 2024 regarding the export of meat products from the south-eastern regions of Kazakhstan to China. This allowed Kazakhstan to resume the export of high-quality livestock products to the PRC.
“We invite Chinese businessmen to organize joint projects in Kazakhstan for the production and deep processing of agricultural products, including on the principles of production cooperation. We are ready to export grains and oilseeds, meat, poultry, dairy and fish products, honey, feed and other types of food,” Serik Zhumangarin addressed the Chinese delegation.
One of the main crops supplied by Kazakhstan to China is wheat. In 2023, its exports amounted to 592 thousand tons, in the first quarter of 2024 - already 220 thousand tons. In general, over the past five years, the export of crop products from Kazakhstan to China has increased 4.6 times, from 750 thousand tons in 2019 to 3.5 million tons in 2023.
In addition, at the meeting, the Kazakh side approached the Chinese with a proposal to create a joint subcommittee on cooperation in the field of agriculture. This will make it possible to more effectively realize the potential of interaction between the two countries in the agricultural sector. To ensure the effectiveness of the subcommittee, it was proposed to create a joint working group from among employees of the Ministries of Agriculture and Transport of Kazakhstan, KTZ, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the Railway Administration of China, which will promptly and consistently resolve emerging issues.