Kazakhstan plans to increase fertiliser application to 3.2 million tonnes in next few years
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During his working trip to Turkestan region from 19 to 22 May, Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin met with wheat producers of Kazygurt district and cotton growers of Maktaaral district, primeminister.kz reports.
As of today, 469.3 thousand hectares of lands have been sown in Turkestan region. More than 100 thousand hectares of them are in Kazygurt district. Wheat, barley, corn, legumes, oilseeds and vegetables are grown here. Almost 2 thousand hectares are orchards. 133 thousand hectares are allocated for pastures. The overwhelming majority of agro-formations are peasant farms (3,375). There are also 127 cooperatives and 105 partnerships. Livestock breeding is very developed, especially sheep breeding, almost 400 thousand heads.
Yerzhan Kobeyev, director of Kazygurt Agro LLP, raised the issue of increasing the rate of fertiliser application, which is subject to subsidies, and the rate of cheap diesel fuel consumption for farmers at a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister.
If they increase the norms, we will be able to double till the land and improve the soil," he said.
Serik Zhumangarin replied that on the farmers' side, they need to apply for fertiliser in time to build up the necessary stock at manufacturing plants.
This year 35 billion tenge is allocated for subsidies for fertilisers in the country, we plan to contribute about 1.5 million tonnes, for this purpose we will increase the volume of subsidies already this year. We plan to increase the volume to 3.2 million tonnes in the next few years. You also have the opportunity to get fertilisers this year, you need to apply," he said.
Agrarian Spandiyar Baigulov asked a question about the cancellation of subsidies for foreign agricultural machinery.
I wanted to take a combine harvester for harvesting John Deere on credit for 140 million tenge, and I was told that at 6% as before will not be given, but only at 15%, because there are no more subsidies. Is this true?" he asked.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov replied that subsidies will no longer be given for the purchase of foreign equipment whose counterparts are made in Kazakhstan. Subsidies will be 30 per cent for domestic machinery. At the same time will continue to subsidise foreign agricultural machinery, the production of which is not established in Kazakhstan, at the level of 25%. But combines for harvesting are produced in our country in sufficient quantity.
In Mactaaral district Serik Zhumangarin familiarised himself with the progress of spring field work on cotton. Here production co-operative "Hamro Ata" together with Chinese "Peng Seng" planted cotton on 310 hectares by technology of drip irrigation. The peculiarity of the project is that it saves the volume of wastewater by 50 per cent compared to cotton fields planted in the simple method. This increases the yield by 60-70 centners per hectare.
Here Deputy Prime Minister was also presented the projects on cultivation and processing of cotton, the realisation of which started this year. These are clusters "Cotton makta" worth 10 billion tenge, "Tulpar Textile" worth 15 billion tenge (production of threads), "TST Jetisay Textile" (cotton processing, production of threads, fabrics and textiles), as well as joint export-oriented cluster "Global Textile Turkestan" worth $50 million with Uzbek partners.
At the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, cotton growers also raised the issue of the possibility of recalculating the norms for issuing favourable diesel fuel for spring field work, taking into account the peculiarities of the region. In addition, the issue of delaying subsidy payments was raised.
We have allocated 376 thousand tonnes of diesel fuel at a reduced price for this year's sowing campaign. At first 340 thousand, and after clarifying the needs we increased it by another 36 thousand tonnes. Now we allocate 580 billion tenge at 5% per annum for farmers for spring field work. Submit applications, take money for development," Serik Zhumangarin addressed to cotton growers.
At the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, cotton growers also raised the issue of the possibility of recalculating the norms for issuing favourable diesel fuel for spring field work, taking into account the peculiarities of the region. In addition, the issue of delaying subsidy payments was raised.
We have allocated 376 thousand tonnes of diesel fuel at a reduced price for this year's sowing campaign. At first 340 thousand, and after clarifying the needs we increased it by another 36 thousand tonnes. Now we allocate 580 billion tenge at 5% per annum for farmers for spring field work. Submit applications, take money for development," Serik Zhumangarin addressed to cotton growers.
Also, within the framework of the trip, Deputy Prime Minister familiarised himself with the progress of construction of corn processing plant, greenhouse complex "ECO-culture", bananary and development of dairy farm "Borte-milka".
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Brand new car sales in Kazakhstan decline in May
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According to the Kazakhstan Automobile Union (KAU), in May 2024, official dealers sold 12,032 units of cars and light commercial vehicles, as well as 781 trucks and buses in May 2024. This represents a 13.2% decrease compared to May last year, Kazinform News Agency reports.
A total of 66,457 vehicles were sold in the first five months of 2024, which is 0.1% more than in the same period in the previous year.
The 2024 sales figures were on par with those of the previous year, but the figures continued declining in May. The market is getting back to a normal, as it should be. We forecast sales at the level of 160,000 to 165,000 new cars this year. In turn, official dealers are continuing promotions and lucrative offers in order to encourage people to purchase new vehicles. However, the illegal importation of the older vehicles continues to grow," Anar Makasheva, KAU president, stated.
Hyundai maintains the top position in the top 10 bestselling cars with 2,424 units sold, representing a 44% decrease compared to May last year. Kia continues to hold the second position with 1,903 cars sold, a 13.4% decline. Chevrolet is third with 1,345 units sold, a 59.2% decrease. For the first time this year, Jac has secured the fourth position with 1,028 units sold, representing a 396.6% increase. Chery was fifth in May with 929 cars sold, a 39.7% increase. The next items on the list are Changan (679; +31.3%), Jetour (664), Haval (592; -5.4%), Toyota (571; +14.2%), and Geely (450; +74.4%).
After five months, Hyundai (14,760; -15%) leads the brand standings, with Kia in the second place with 8,541 cars sold (-13.4%) and Chevrolet in the third place with 6,159 cars sold (-65.1%). Chery dealers sold 5,428 cars, representing a 60.9% increase. In fifth place is Jac, which sold 4,022 units, an increase of 165.8%.
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Agreement for construction of $1.5bn copper smelter signed in Kazakhstan Government
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Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Co. Ltd. Xi Zhengping discussed cooperation in the copper industry, primeminister.kz reports.
The result of the meeting was the signing in the presence of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov agreement on the construction of a smelter with a capacity of 300 thousand tonnes of copper per year. The agreement was signed between KAZ Minerals Smelting LLP, which acts as the customer, China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC) as the supplier of design services and procurement of process equipment, and NFC Kazakhstan LLP as the construction and commissioning contractor.
The plant will be built near the village of Aktogay in the Abay region. The source of raw materials will be copper concentrate from Bozshakol and Aktogay mining and processing plants of Vostoktsvetmet LLP. The construction of the plant will create a cluster combining one of the world's largest copper mines and a modern copper smelting facility. The project, with a preliminary cost of $1.5bn, will create over 1,000 new jobs. It is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2028.
The high-tech enterprise will be the largest in the country for the production of high-value-added products. The applied technologies in the field of copper smelting correspond to the world environmental standards.
The enterprise will meet the domestic market demand for processing of copper-containing raw materials and copper cathode. It should be noted that cathode copper is widely used in the power industry, machine building and other industrial sectors. In addition, the new plant plans to produce refined gold, silver and sulphuric acid.
The Head of State has set the task of sustainable economic growth. The construction of the new copper smelter is a major industrial project that will increase the processing of copper raw materials mined in the country and will make a great contribution to the economy of our country. Copper industry is one of the priority sectors of our industry and its dynamic development is very important for us," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
For reference: China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Company Ltd (Non Ferrous China) is a state-controlled company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It is involved in international project contracting and non-ferrous metal resource development. NFC was the first Chinese company to invest in non-ferrous metal mining and processing assets outside of China, and also owns mining projects in the PRC itself. It has business operations in more than 20 countries. NFC was the lead contractor on KAZ Minerals' Bozshakol, Aktogay and Bozymchak projects.
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