Importance of food security growing against difficult global situation, says Kazakh president

By Trend

The relevance of food security is increasing many times in the face of the difficult situation in the world, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, Trend reports.

Tokayev made the statement in his address to the extended session of the Kazakh Government.

He noted that the increase in world food prices has already reached 34 percent. The price of wheat increased by 47 percent, cereals by 18percent. At the same time, yields are expected to decline in the countries of the European Union, the US, Canada and others due to the dry weather.

Against this background, he said, a decrease in agricultural output is observed in Kazakhstan. The production of butter decreased by 12 percent, of processed milk by 7.5 percent, of sugar by 5.6 percent, of cheese by 3 percent. At the same time, import volumes increased by 22 percent, and the import of milk increased by 17 percent, in particular.

It is expected that by 2023 Kazakhstan will achieve food independence in poultry meat (the current share of imports is 40 percent), sausages (44 percent), fish (60 percent), cheese (50 percent), sugar (60 percent), dairy products (4 percent). In general, hover a different situation is observed, he said.