Kazakhstan temporarily bans sugar exports

Kazakhstan has introduced a six-month ban on the export of white sugar and raw cane sugar, Report informs referring to the Kazakh media.

The relevant order was issued by Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeev.

The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture was instructed to inform the Eurasian Economic Commission about the introduction of this ban in the manner prescribed by law.

The order is put into effect upon the expiration of ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication.

Earlier, Karashukeev reported that 58% of the sugar consumed in Kazakhstan is imported from abroad. Until the end of August, 250,000 tons of sugar will be able to be imported into the republic without paying customs duties from countries outside the EAEU.

“It is expected to increase sugar production by 7 times - to 254,000 tons, reduce sugar imports by 32%, which will increase the provision of the domestic market with domestically produced sugar from 7% to 43%,” the minister said at a government meeting at the end of April.

Karashukeev noted that in order to obtain such results, state support is needed through the provision of subsidies and preferential loans for 5-6 years.

The annual consumption of sugar in Kazakhstan is about 532,000 tons, of which 7% comes from domestic raw materials.

“This is due to small-scale production, lack of water for irrigation and manual labor in growing sugar beets, depreciation of sugar factories, dumping prices on the part of Russian producers,” Karashukeev explained.

By solving the problem of water supply, expanding the sown area from 14,500 hectares to 38,000 hectares, technical equipment, as well as launching projects for the modernization and construction of a sugar plant with the infrastructure development of the industry, an increase in the gross harvest of products from 332,000 tons to 1.8 million tons is expected.