Sunflower processing plants in Kazakhstan sorely lack raw materials

Sunflower processing plants in Kazakhstan sorely lack raw materials

Sunflower processing plants in the East Kazakhstan region complain about the shortage of raw materials due to high export volumes of this type of crops.

The capacities of local processing plants vary from 65 to 350 thousand tons of sunflower seeds per year. These plants, depending on the capacity, are provided with raw materials of domestic production by 50-80%.

This situation is due to the fact that agricultural producers prefer to export raw materials, since the purchase price is higher. To solve this problem, state intervention is required, since it is necessary to regulate this issue by introducing export duties, or by introducing quotas or granting subsidies to those producers who sell raw materials to local processing plants.

It should be recalled that the harvest of sunflower in 2017 was 1011.7 thousand tons.

In recent years, Kazakhstan has been facing a catastrophic shortage of sunflower seeds for processing. This is due to a decrease in the area of sunflower cultivation and inefficiency in the processes of harvesting and storage of the crop. The shortage of raw materials leads to a reduction in production and exports of sunflower oil, as well as damage to the country’s economy. To solve the problem, it is necessary to increase the efficiency of the processes of harvesting and storage of the crop, as well as stimulate the development of sunflower production. Solving this problem will not only increase the volumes of sunflower processing and exports but also create new jobs and promote the development of agriculture as a whole.