Food in Kazakhstan is very delicious: EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti

Kazakhstan may play a crucial role in the global food security, Tengrinews reports citing the President of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Sir Suma Chakrabarti as saying at the 28th plenary session of Council of Foreign Investors that was held in Astana on June 4.

The main topic the participants discussed was the development of agriculture in Kazakhstan. 

“Food security and agriculture are among the key topics on the international agenda now. The world needs more food and Kazakhstan may play a big role in the global food security if it creates the right conditions for the companies to increase their efficiency. If companies here manage to improve their productivity, improve the communications network connections with international markets and build the required infrastructure, then they will be able to produce and sell a lot more, especially now when there are gaps in the international markets because of geopolitical shocks,” Chakrabarti declared at the meeting.

He added that Kazakh food was very delicious. “I like coming to Kazakhstan. From my personal experience - this hospitality and very delicious food. I am especially pleased that today we are discussing agriculture. I tried a lot of local food – rice from Kyzylorda, apples from Almaty and of course bread made of wheat of very high quality,” President Chakrabarti said.

According to him, the best quality wheat in the world was produced in Kazakhstan. “Actually many experts agree with it. Your high-quality durum wheat gives you a competitive advantage over other exporters in the region, including Ukraine. You are one of the top ten exporters and the second producer of wheat flour (in the world)," the head of the EBRD said.

However, changes are still required, he continued. The main problem, according to Chakrabarti, is that agriculture is still under a lot of control of the state. "You could say that everything is fine as it is. But I think we know the answer. The changes are necessary, new technologies, new capital and dynamic entrepreneurs are needed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture must produce much more revenue for Kazakhstan then it does now and also protect it from shocks that may emerge because of the oil price,” Chakrabarti explained.

The Foreign Investors Council is a consulting-advisory body chaired by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. It was established in 2000 to address key issues related to investments in Kazakhstan as well as to improve the investment climate. 

Reporting by Aidana Usupova, writing by Assel Satubaldina, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina