Sugar prices in Kazakhstan continue to hit record high, ranging from 400 to 800 tenge per kilogram in the regions of the country. And this is not the limit. According to experts the prices may rise by 1,000 tenge in autumn. One of the main reasons of the significant price growth for sugar is the logistic routes disruption, halted delivery from Russia and expensive raw materials. However, according to experts, the sugar issue will take a long time to settle. With a clear shortage of this important product, this year the minimum amount of sugar beet has been planted, in total 12,000 tonnes.
“The farmers face serious problems related to the production of this crop. The crucial problem is water, since these are water-intensive crops. The period when it is necessary to irrigate the crops, there is always lack of water. We are still 90 percent dependent on seeds import. We haven’t done a serious work on our own selection of sugar beet yet. We couldn’t provide appropriate technology, since we still have a primitive furrow irrigation system. And we need good investments in this industry,” said Yerbol Yesseneyev, a spokesperson of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.
Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs suggests launching the industry development program for the next five years, which can also include both the increase of sugar beet crops in the country and the full capacity of plants. According to the National Chamber, the farmers of Almaty, Zhambyl and Turkistan regions need about 104,000 hectares of land.
Translation by Zhanna Smagulova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
