BUILDING EUR ASIA’S ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE
“Kazakhstan is suitable for the cultivation and production of meat,” says Wu Jie, chairman and CEO of Rifa Holding. “China is currently the world’s largest importer of meat. So why should we not import meat from our partner, Kazakhstan?” The family-owned Chinese company is considering total investments of $200 million into similar projects before 2020. The Kazakh poultry market is estimated at 300,000 tonnes per year, only half of which is met by domestic production. The government hopes that Kazakhstan will become self-sufficient within the next two years. Arguably the most interesting prospect for Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector is in carving a niche as a global organic food producer. In November 2015, President Nazarbayev signed a new law outlining the institutional and Chinese companies regulatory framework for organic are investing farming. The law prohibits synthetic inputs, such as pesticides, and promotes sustainable farming practices and activities. China currently represents the biggest market for Kazakh organic goods, and the two in 19 agricultural countries are already negotiating projects producing the establishment of a system to organic products monitor the quality of organic food being sold in China. In February 2016, Chinese companies agreed to invest $1.7 billion in 19 agricultural projects producing organic products earmarked for export to China. COFCO, for example, plans to build three plants for the processing of organic tomatoes and tomato paste.
$1.7 billion
REUTERS/ALAMY
market share of halal food expected to increase from 16% last year to 20% in 2020, Kazakhstan could yet attract business from land-strapped Islamic countries.
INVESTMENT FROM CHINA Interest is also flowing in from China. In January 2016, Rifa Holding committed to
Arguably the most interesting prospect for the sector is in carving a niche as a global organic food producer invest $11 million in the construction of beef and lamb farms, feedlots and meat processing plants in eastern Kazakhstan. The project is being run as a joint venture with local company Eurasia Holding, with an agreement that at least 80% of the finished products will be sold in China.
Success in China is key to Kazakhstan’s export hopes. China is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, and could later serve as a springboard to other Southeast Asian countries. It is partnerships such as these that will help to strengthen and define Kazakhstan’s role in global agricultural supply chains.
49 KAZAKHSTAN AT 25 – GLOBAL PARTNER