Tag Archives: agriculture

Russia accuses Azerbaijan of aiding Turkey

FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s agricultural watchdog accused Azerbaijan of re-exporting potatoes from Turkey to Russia to help their Turkish allies beat Russian sanctions.

This is the first time that Russia has accused a country from Central Asia and the South Caucasus, which have loyalties to both the Kremlin and Ankara, of helping Turkey dodge sanctions imposed last year after a Turkish fighter-jet shot down a Russian fighter-jet over Syria.

“After inspecting the food shipments coming from Azerbaijan and Iran to ensure their commitment to Russia’s decision to prevent the import of agricultural products from Turkey, we have noted that Azerbaijan has doubled its potato shipments to our country by five times since last January,” Sergei Dankvet, head of the agricultural watchdog, told media.

He also said Russia had complained to Azerbaijan and warned it of potential consequences. Companies in the Baltics have previously used Central Asia to skip EU sanctions to send their dairy goods to Russia.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Jan. 26 2016)

 

Kyrgyz businesses say the odds are stacked against them in the EEU

BISHKEK, FEB. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz farmers and exporters of agricultural products have said that the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a group centred around the Kremlin that was supposed to boost its members’ economies, has undermined their businesses by exposing them to unfair competition.

The insight collected by The Conway Bulletin’s correspondent in Bishkek, undermines claims by President Almazbek Atambayev that joining the EEU in August was a positive move for Kyrgyzstan.

Sergey Ponomarev, head of the business lobby group AMTSS and a former PM adviser, said that cheaper Belarusian goods had hit Kyrgyzstan’s key export market in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

“In Belarus, prices for animal feed are largely subsidised by the state, which makes their products cheaper on the Kazakh market,” he said. Mr Ponomarev said that the Belarus government subsidises its farmers’ animal feed, something the Kyrgyz government doesn’t do.

Data released by Kyrgyzstan’s state statistics committee last month showed that in 2015 exports of clothes fell by 50%, fruit and vegetables exports fell by a third and tobacco exports by 28%.

This has partly to do with the worsening economic conditions in the region but also because of the more competitive export markets created by the EEU.

Tilek Toktogaziyev, the owner of a greenhouse in Bishkek. which sells various fruit, vegetables and berries, said: “Local farmers cannot trade their vegetables, and some of them have stopped farming altogether.”

Previously, business owners have complained of extra red tape after joining the EEU but they hadn’t complained of excessive competition.

One business owner, though, was more positive. Dastan Omuraliev, the manager of Organic, a company producing fruit juices, said: “With entering the Eurasian Economic Union, it became easier to pass our goods through the Kazakh border.”

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

 

China invests in Kazakhstan’s agribusiness

JAN. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — China’s COFCO and Rifa Holding Group were part of a group of Chinese companies to sign a $1.7b investment deal in Kazakhstan’s agribusiness, Gulmira Isayeva the Kazakh deputy minister of agriculture said. Twelve of the 19 projects will focus on the Almaty region. The projects will focus on processing animal and vegetable products for export to China.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on  Jan. 29 2016)

Uzbek leader cuts cotton harvest

JAN. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov said in a speech he wanted to switch some cotton fields to growing vegetables, perhaps a sign agricultural self-sufficiency has become a more important objective for Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan’s cotton harvest will fall to 3m tonnes by 2020 from its current 3.5m tonne crop.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

China lifts grain barriers for Kazakhstan

JAN. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – China has lifted administrative barriers that had restricted Kazakhstan’s grain exports to its neighbour, Kazakh first deputy PM Bakytzhan Sagintayev told media. He said that the lifting of the various barriers would make it far easier for Kazakhstan to sell grain to China. Grain has become, over the past decade, an important export commodity for Kazakhstan.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Turkmenistan exports wheat to Afghanistan

DEC. 14 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – After visiting Ashgabat for talks with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he would buy 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Turkmenistan for the 2015-16 season. The deal would make Turkmenistan one of the main exporters of wheat to Afghanistan.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 261, published on Dec. 20 2015)

 

EU to give Georgia grant

NOV. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The EU is preparing to give Georgia a 100m euro grant to help its public administration, farming and rural development sectors improve and move towards European standards, the EU commissioner for enlargement, Johannes Hahn, said on a trip to Tbilisi. Georgia wants to eventually join the EU.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 258, published on Nov. 27 2015)

Demand for crop monitoring kit rises in Kazakhstan

NOV. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Cyprus-registered New Science Technologies, which sells satellite crop monitoring equipment, said that demand for its products is growing in Kazakhstan and that it has had to build new capacity. Kazakhstan has increased its grain harvest considerably over the past few years. Kazakhstan’s wheat fields are vast and need satellite technology to monitor.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 257, published on Nov. 20 2015)

 

Grain harvest rise in Kazakhstan

OCT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan is on target to produce 17.3m tonnes of grain this year, up from the 17.1m tonnes produced last year, media reported quoting the agriculture ministry. Grain has become an important export commodity for Kazakhstan. The ministry also said it is trying to find more clients for its grain in SE Asia.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

 

Kyrgyzstan focuses on agriculture

SEPT. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Agricultural projects outnumbered any other sector for applications to a $1b Russian-Kyrgyz development fund for small and medium enterprises in Kyrgyzstan. The data highlights Kyrgyzstan’s predominantly agricultural economy.

ENDS

Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)