Nazarbayev pledges 180,000 tons of meat exports by 2020

At the opening of the IV Economic Forum in Astana today, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev has listed reasons why prices for foodstuffs are growing, Tengrinews.kz reports. President Nazarbayev said that growing prices for commodities, including energy resources, coupled with growing global consumption and natural disasters have been pushing prices for foodstuffs upwards. Citing the World Bank, President stressed that starting from early 2011 food prices have grown by 36%. According to him, as a result low-income countries have faced the problem of financing food imports. Since last June the number of people living below the poverty line has increased by 44 million. “Consequences of food crises are social tensions and political upheavals throughout the world (…) it is of paramount importance to ensure food security at regional and global levels. Inter-state cooperation and concerted actions are needed”, President Nazarbayev said. Head of State pointed out that Kazakhstan exports high-quality grain. The nation has come up with a program to increase environmentally safe meat production. According to President Nazarbayev, the program will enable to export up to 180 000 tons of meat by 2020. “It is a serious ambitious program. I believe we have all the conditions in place”, President said.