World meat industry news

Kazakh farmers oppose the ban on the export of livestock, while meat processors, on the contrary, support restrictions. With a request for support in revising the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers turned to the Atameken National Chamber. Representatives of all interested parties gathered at the NPP site to discuss the issue, the organization's press service told.

About 90 representatives of the industry took part in the discussion of restrictions on the export of cattle: farmers and meat processors from all regions of the country, representatives of the branches of the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Chamber.

Erbol Yeseneev, Director of the Department of Agro-Industrial Complex of NCE, noted the relevance of the issue and suggested listening to the views of both sides.

“Now there is a restriction on the export of cattle. This decision has both positive and negative sides. Today we have gathered representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers and meat processors for a comprehensive discussion,” said Yerbol Yeseneev.

Vice Minister of Agriculture Zhenis Userbay explained the position of the ministry. According to him, in the first half of 2022, the export of cattle did not change compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the department is ready to make adjustments in relation to existing restrictions.

“Now the export volume is set at 30,000 heads of cattle and 60,000 heads of small ruminants. We understand that the goal of exporters is to sell their livestock more expensively, while it is more profitable for processors to process meat at the expense of the domestic market and sell already processed meat. Now we are not talking about unilateral support for farmers or meat processors. We must find a balanced position, what should be the volume of exports and its content,” the vice minister emphasized.

The ban on the export of livestock was supported by the representative of the Kostanay company BEEF EXPORT GROUP Alexander Parkhomenko.

“Now we buy livestock from large and small farmers before processing. If we just sell raw materials abroad, we will be forced to buy expensive finished products from outside,” said Alexander Parkhomenko.

According to the speaker, now the purchase price for local cattle is 1.1 thousand tenge per 1 kg, and 2.1-2.3 thousand tenge are exported to Uzbekistan.

Farmers refute such rates. According to them, meat processors buy raw materials in the amount of 700 to 850 tenge, despite the fact that the volumes they buy are not too large. This is unprofitable for livestock breeders, and they are forced to close their farms. Despite the fact that in some regions there is even practically no meat processing industry, as, for example, the Kyzylorda livestock breeder Nurlan Toksanbayuly claims.

The representative of the Union of Farmers of East Kazakhstan region Serik Baigaliev proposed to balance the volumes of exports and imports. In his opinion, if the Ministry of Agriculture limits the number of exported livestock, then each village should understand how many heads of livestock it can export.

“Farmers should not have any restrictions at all. We must identify the export volume of each farmer in the country. Request the number for all rural districts, auls, and then we will get a fairly clear picture. If meat processors offer favorable prices, no one will export livestock. This is the market. The entrepreneur will be where the profit is,” Serik Baigaliyev stressed.

According to Daniyar Mukushev, a livestock breeder from Akmola, in the current market situation, livestock exports should not be restricted. And industry expert Kirill Pavlov noted the need to calculate the supply and demand for meat for each region.

During the discussion, other problems of the industry were also discussed. The population may be completely left without livestock and meat if veterinary medicine in the country does not improve, animal breeder Azamat Orynbaev believes.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Yerbol Yeseneev, a representative of the NPP, promised to send proposals on the problem to the consideration of the interdepartmental commission. The speaker suggested that both sides find a mutually beneficial solution that would take into account the interests of both meat processors and livestock breeders.

“First of all, domestic meat processors need to determine the required volume of raw materials. The second issue is smuggling. Despite the restrictions, in some regions, for example, in Turkestan, cases of illegal export of cattle have been recorded. It is also necessary to review the volume of quotas. I propose to take into account all these and other comments and submit them for discussion by the Interregional Commission,” Yerbol Yeseneev concluded.