Alikhan Talgatbek, CEO of the agro-industrial holding KazFoodProducts, proposed paying farmers subsidies when delivering wheat for deep processing. This will not only attract additional investment to the industry, but also solve the problem of selling low-quality wheat.
“We propose introducing subsidies for farmers when delivering wheat to deep processing plants. According to our calculations, this will allow us to more actively attract investors to the industry and increase the volume of deep processing of wheat, while creating an additional 5,000 new jobs. And, which is especially relevant now, it will quickly resolve the issue of excess low-quality wheat. This will support farmers who sell this wheat at low prices,” Alikhan Talgatbek said during parliamentary hearings in the Senate on food security.
Arguing this proposal, he noted that in 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced subsidies for farmers when delivering corn for deep processing. Over the past four years, we have managed to double the volume of deep processing of corn and increase the yield of this crop. That is, this type of subsidy has shown high economic efficiency.
Currently, Kazakhstan has several enterprises for deep processing of corn and wheat, and the country already 100% satisfies its needs for syrups and starches, which were recently imported. The leader in this area is KazFoodProducts, which annually uses more than 250 thousand tons of grain for deep processing alone. The resulting products (protein, starches, bioethanol, syrups, feed) are sold in Kazakhstan and exported to the markets of non-CIS countries, including the USA, India, and the European Union.
"This year, in the conditions of a high harvest, it became obvious that further increase in the gross volume of grain is impossible without increasing its processing. Today, we see that investors are showing great interest in Kazakhstan and intend to build enterprises for deep grain processing with a capacity of about 1.5 million tons of wheat processing per year. Considering the deadlines set by the head of state to increase the processing of agricultural products to 70% by 2026, it is necessary to take measures of state support to accelerate the development of the deep processing industry,” emphasized Alikhan Talgatbek.