Tag Archives: agriculture

Kazakhstan bans grain exports as drought worsens

ALMATY/JULY 19 2021 (The Bulletin) — With a drought that has destroyed crops and wiped out livestock in much of Western Kazakhstan continuing, the Kazakh government said that it was limiting the export of barley and wheat which are used for animal feed (July 19). The initial ban on the export of barley and wheat is for six months although analysts have said it could last longer.

Activists have criticised the government for not doing enough to help farmers deal with the drought and have been posting pictures of dead and heavily emaciated horses in the arid west of the country.

Earlier this month, Kazakhstan declared the drought an emergency and Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev then fired Saparkhan Omarov, the agriculture minister, for failing to help farmers.

Kazakhstan is the largest grain producer in the Central Asia region.

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— This story was published in issue 493 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on July 22 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Azerbaijan nears completion of hazelnut processing plant

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MARCH 7 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has nearly finished constructing a hazelnut processing plant that will help it boost exports, as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev ordered in 2017, media reported. The processing plant will create 150 jobs and will be able to process 7,000 tonnes of hazelnuts per year. Azerbaijan has been trying to boost non-oil exports.

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— This story was published in issue 475 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 15 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Uzbekistan aims to increase fruit exports to China

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MARCH 4 2021 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan wants to expand the range of fruit that it exports to China, which is fast becoming Central Asia’s main export market for nearly all its goods, Muslim Khalilov, a senior Uzbek official in the government’s export promotion department, told the freshplaza.com website. Mr Khalilov said that Uzbekistan already exports 14 types of fruit to China and that it wants permits to export lemons, grapes, plums, peaches and persimmons to China too.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Kazakhstan wants more foreign investment in its agriculture

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MARCH 2 2021 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan wants to attract investments of $9.5b in its agricultural sector by 2025, PM Askar Mamin said during a government meeting. The Kazakh government sees its agricultural sector as an underused resource that could be doing more to attract foreign investors. Some Western companies have already invested in cattle farms to sell beef across Central Asia, where it is growing in popularity, and also to China.

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— This story was published in issue 474 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on March 5 2021

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Uzbekistan is making progress on eradicating forced labour, says ILO

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FEB. 2 2021 (The Bulletin) — The International Labour Organisation (ILO), part of the UN, said that Uzbekistan was continuing to make good progress in eradicating forced labour in its cotton sector. The statement is important for Uzbekistan as its government has tried to persuade Western companies to lift a ban on products made using Uzbek cotton, a key export. The ban was imposed during Islam Karimov’s time as president. He died in 2016.

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— This story was first published in issue 471 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Aliyev says that Russian tomato ban was a surprise

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JAN. 7 2021 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that he was surprised that Russia imposed a ban on Azerbaijani tomatoes from Dec. 10. Russian officials said that they had found pests in some tomatoes but some analysts have said that the ban is retaliation for Azerbaijan’s comprehensive victory over Armenia for control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020.

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— This story was first published in issue 467 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Uzbekistan opens Ammonia plant

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JAN. 5 2021 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek pharmaceuticals company Uzkimyosanoat opened a new $985m ammonia plant whose output is expected to meet growing domestic demand for fertilisers. Media said that the plant, which has been described as “world class” and is one of the biggest industrial plants in the country, will boost Uzbek production of ammonia, the key ingredient in fertiliser, by nearly 10%. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has promised to invest in infrastructure.

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— This story was first published in issue 467 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Tajikistan is facing most serious drought ever, says deputy PM

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DEC. 22 2020 (The Bulletin) — Davlatali Said, Tajikistan’s deputy PM, said that the country was facing the most serious drought on record. The statement was an unusually candid one by a senior member of the Tajik government on the water shortages in Tajikistan’s reservoirs that have dented power generation at its hydropower stations. Tajikistan is trying to set itself up as a major regional power exporter.

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— This story was first published in issue 467 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2021

Invest in our agriculture, Kazakh officials say

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JUNE 22 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan wants foreign investors to buy into its vision for its agricultural sector, the government said through the state-linked newspaper Astana Times. Kazakh officials have been trying to promote its agricultural sector for the past decade and to expand its exports away from grain.

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— This story was first published in issue 451 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, published on June 23 2020

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2020

World Bank approves $239m funds to build improved water system

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MARCH 13 (The Bulletin) — The World Bank approved a $239m credit line to Uzbekistan to help build improved water services. The World Bank country manager in Uzbekistan, Hideki Mori, said that 500,000 people will have improved water supplies in Uzbekistan after this project is completed. The project is focused on the remote Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan and around the town of Samarkand.

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— This story was first published in issue 440 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin