Aidarbek Saparov spoke at the Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia

Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov spoke at the XIX Forum of Interregional Cooperation of Kazakhstan and Russia "Agriculture is the basis of a strong economy". The Head of the Ministry of Agriculture stressed the importance and timeliness of the forum, which will expand the borders and build the right interstate cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Aidarbek Saparov recalled that Russia is the largest trading partner of Kazakhstan and accounts for more than 30% of the country's total trade turnover. To increase the volume of mutual trade, the countries plan to expand the range and volume of products supplied.

"Our country has a great potential to increase the volume of supplies of vegetables, fruits, rice, meat, cotton and others to Russia. In parallel, it is necessary to continue work on lifting trade restrictions, including veterinary and phytosanitary barriers. At the same time, it is very important for the economy of Kazakhstan and for Russia to identify and combat the so-called "gray" imports," the minister said.

He noted that in 2023 a similar situation has developed for wheat. Therefore, the ban on the import of wheat by road has been extended in the republic, and restrictions on the import by rail have also been introduced. Thanks to this, Kazakhstan will know specific recipients in the face of licensed elevators, processing and poultry enterprises. But the restrictions did not affect transit rail transportation of Russian wheat through the territory of Kazakhstan.

In addition, mutual recognition of grain receipts in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union will be effective from June 1, 2026. At the same time, the system of circulation of electronic grain receipts has been successfully operating in Kazakhstan for many years, so the republic is ready to share its experience with Russian colleagues. In turn, Kazakh experts are studying the experience of Russia in terms of traceability of crop production.

At the plenary session, Aidarbek Saparov spoke about the importance of bilateral cooperation between the veterinary services of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation to ensure food security. According to the Minister, it is necessary to review the existing restrictions on Kazakh livestock products, which have been in place for a year and a half, and do not allow for the full implementation of trade and economic processes.

"There is also a great potential in the implementation of joint major investment projects. Russia and Kazakhstan are the largest producers and exporters of agricultural products in the world. The implementation of specific cooperation projects in the agro-industrial complex in order to solve import substitution issues and ensure food security of the EAEU countries and access to export markets, primarily to China, should be our joint task," the head of the Ministry of Agriculture explained.

The Minister added that one of the potential areas for investment are projects of deep processing – production with high conversion, as well as projects in the production and processing of meat and milk, vegetables, sugar beet, vegetable oil and poultry meat. In general, Kazakhstan is ready to exchange experience with leading breeders and seed growers of Russia, as well as investors who are ready to come to the republic's market for the development of domestic seed production.

"On behalf of the Head of State, the Government is taking measures to bring the level of renewal of agricultural machinery to 8-10% per year. In this regard, it is proposed to consider the possibility of funding by Russian development institutes of the national agricultural machinery leasing operator Kazagrofinance company for the purpose of preferential financing for the purchase of equipment of Russian brands produced in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan," Aidarbek Saparov said.

In conclusion, the Minister proposed to activate and strengthen the work of a special working group established between the Ministries of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and Russia. According to the Minister, in order to promptly resolve all emerging issues, it is necessary to reformat the work of the group to obtain the final result.