Kazakhstan to keep supporting domestic producers after WTO accession - minister
ASTANA. June 27 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) does not suggest closing down subsidy programs for domestic producers, Agriculture Minister Asylzhan Mamytbekov said at a briefing in Astana on Thursday.
"In our opinion, competition will be more intense, but the WTO will bring many benefits as well," he said.
"The 2020 sector program maintains all support measures and guarantees that all subsidy programs will be valid after WTO accession," Mamytbekov said.
However, the head of the department noted that "in the future the government will need to abandon subsidies for agricultural exports."
"It means that we have to produce as much grain as is consumed domestically - 7 million - plus our traditional export markets: Central Asia, the Caucasus and China, about plus 6 million a year. In other words, to produce more than 13 million [tonnes] of grain a year won't be profitable for Kazakhstan," he said.