NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has ample opportunities to develop the country’s own organic agriculture, said Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov at the Nov. 3 virtual meeting of the 32nd session of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) regional conference, the ministry’s press service reported.

Kazakhstan will focus efforts on improving product quality, as well as will increase the production of agricultural products and food products, he said during the virtual meeting.

“We will continue to build up this competitive advantage and will actively use our beneficial geographical location at the crossroads of the most important trading markets of China, Europe, and Central Asia. If Kazakhstan uses the great potential of the agro-industrial complex, Kazakhstan will be able to become an international agri-food hub,” Omarov said in the session on sustainable food systems and healthy diets in Europe and Central Asia.

According to the European Commission’s data, Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest supplier of organic agri-food products to the EU. Kazakh organic wheat and flax oil are the absolute leaders in the global market’s sales.

Omarov stressed that the Kazakh government was able to ensure a stable food supply to domestic and foreign markets despite the pandemic.

“Over the eight months of this year, [Kazakhstan] sent food worth $1.3 billion to the SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) countries alone. In addition, more than 10,000 tons of flour were sent to the countries of Central Asia as humanitarian aid. It is worth noting that, according to the FAO, Kazakhstan fed more than 45 million inhabitants of the Earth last year with the export of wheat and flour,” he said.

According to the minister, Kazakhstan will develop sustainable food ecosystems to ensure regional food security. The National Distribution System will continue to increase production, expand storage capacity, as well as increase the export of agricultural products.