Several companies show interest in processing saiga meat – ecology ministry

Tengrinews.kz - Investors in Kazakhstan have expressed interest in processing saiga meat, according to Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev.

During a government briefing, the minister stated that six companies have shown interest in the initiative.

"Processing is crucial given the volume of planned culling. We are working with akimats on investment projects to establish meat processing plants for saiga meat. At this stage, six companies have expressed interest," Nyssanbayev said.

He noted that an official scientific rationale for regulating the saiga population has already been received. Organizational matters are currently being discussed.

"I believe we’ll announce a final decision within a day or two. Scientists have proposed removing 20 percent of the total population. Based on the most recent count, the total population stands at 3.9 million. Of these, 2.3 million are in the Ural population group, 1.6 million in Betpak-Dala, and 78,000 in the Ustyurt group. So, we are looking at removing approximately 800,000 saiga," he explained.

Earlier, Minister Nyssanbayev announced that saiga meat would soon become available for retail sale in Kazakhstan.

In May, Alzhan Shamshidin, Vice-Rector for Science at Zhangir Khan West Kazakhstan Agrarian and Technical University, stated that Kazakhstan could earn billions of dollars through the rational use of its saiga resources. He proposed keeping the animals in enclosed reserves for better population control.