On September 19, a meeting of heads of government bodies, as well as representatives of associations of flour millers and oil traders, was held in the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, where issues of food security were discussed.
According to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, the meeting was chaired by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Bakyt Torobaev, who noted that there is no shortage of wheat in Kyrgyzstan, and an increase in prices is observed for flour from Kazakhstan. In addition, it was said that the main reason for the increase in the cost of Kazakh flour in the Kyrgyz Republic was “the seasonal congestion of the railways through which grain cargo is imported from the Republic of Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan.”
Torobaev assured that the State Material Reserves Fund (Gosmatrezerv) has “sufficient quantities of essential products, such as sunflower oil, flour, sugar.” “We will be able to ensure the country’s food security for at least five months,” the official emphasized and added that in the event of a real shortage of wheat, the State Matrezerv will release the required amount of wheat for flour mills.
The issue of rising flour prices was also discussed in the Jogorku Kenesh. At a meeting of the relevant committee, the deputy head of the Antimonopoly Regulatory Service, Aibek Mamyraliev, explained that Kazakh flour has increased in price due to a reduction in supplies of the product from a neighboring country. “Sellers from there do not send [flour] to Kyrgyzstan. In this regard, appropriate measures are being taken. We have submitted our proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers,” he concluded.
Kyrgyzstan is dependent on imports of flour and wheat. In seven years of 2023, 16,197 tons of product were imported from Kazakhstan. This is 88% of imports, the remaining 12% came from Russia. During this period, 181,210 tons of wheat were imported, 97% of supplies came from Russia.
Let us recall that at the end of August the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic reported that in the first seven months of 2023, the increase in prices for goods and services in Kyrgyzstan amounted to 5.4% compared to December last year.
An increase in the cost of products in the Kyrgyz Republic began to be recorded from the beginning of 2023, which is why the country’s authorities had to strengthen control over pricing to ensure food security. In February, according to the National Statistics Committee, the largest increase in prices was recorded for flour and sugar (27-29%). Officially, the inflation rate during that period was 14.7%.
Source : AZATTYK