Kazakhstan: A sugar plant with a capacity of 150,000 tons will be built in Aksu

Kazakhstan is implementing a Comprehensive Plan for the Development of the Sugar Industry until 2026. According to Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Karashukeev, the plan includes expanding the area under crops, bringing new irrigated lands into operation, introducing water-saving technologies, developing seed production and building an innovative plant, ElData reports.

In order to increase the production of domestic sugar and reduce import dependence, the construction of a sugar plant with a capacity of 150 thousand tons per year has begun in Pavlodar region. A land plot of 70 hectares has been allocated for the construction of the plant. In 2019-2021, experimental crops were carried out on three farms, while the sugar content of beets reached 14%.

Work to attract an investor for the construction of a plant with experience in sugar production is being carried out with companies such as Calik Holding, YDA Group, Champion Foods, Murban, Rusagro, Inoks Capital. There are currently 4 sugar factories in Kazakhstan with a total capacity of 8,000 tons per day for processing sugar beet and 2,000 tons for raw cane sugar, which produced 283,000 tons of sugar in 2022 with domestic consumption of 555,000 tons.

Inoks Capital plans to implement a pilot project for the cultivation of sugar beets in cooperation with existing farms in the Zhetysu region, due to restrictions on the issuance of land to foreigners.

Medium-term plans in Kazakhstan provide for an increase in sugar production from 283 thousand tons to 490 thousand tons, while the area under cultivation will increase from 12 thousand to 38 thousand hectares, which will increase the production of sugar from domestic raw materials from 33 thousand to 250 thousand. tons. As a result of these measures, the security of the domestic market will increase from 51% to 83%.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in the medium term, the area under sugar beet crops will increase to 38 thousand hectares by 2026 in the southern regions. This will make it possible to meet 43% of domestic demand for sugar from local raw materials, increase sugar production to 250 thousand tons and reduce the share of white sugar imports from 58% to 17%.

The Minister of Agriculture specified that in order to support farmers, the purchase prices for sugar beet and the amount of subsidies have been increased this year. Sugar factories will pay 15,000 tenge per ton, and the state will pay 25,000 tenge subsidies per ton.

The issue of increasing compensation up to 50% for the purchase of beet harvesters, seeders and toppers is being considered. This year, 5.9 billion tenge has been allocated from local budgets to subsidize the delivery of sugar beets for processing. After clarification of the budget, an additional 8.2 billion tenge was allocated, which increased the total amount of subsidies to 14.1 billion tenge. This will allow subsidizing 563,000 tons of sugar beets.

In 2023, thanks to the processing of domestic raw materials, the supply of domestic market with sugar will be 67.6 thousand tons, which is 29 thousand tons more than in 2022.