September 9 2005, 11:57

Kazakh president set task by 2011 to get the country among world's five top agriproducts exporters

According to web-server www.gazeta.kz, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev speaking to a congress of Kazakhstan's ruling political party, has outlined the country's major sectors of advance for the next seven years. In particular, he said, the country's priority is going to be its agro-industrial complex and, most importantly, grain production and livestock breeding.

Within the next seven years the industry is going to receive substantial investments, the president said.

"The main goal is to prepare agrarian sector to a maximal degree to [Kazakhstan's] WTO accession", he said, adding that the main emphasis will be made on quality processing of farm products, which must become competitive on the world's markets.

"By the start of the second decade [of 21st century] our agriculture must reach the level of East-European countries and [our country] must get ranked among the world's five top grain exporters", he said.

According to him, the increase in competitiveness of Kazakhstan's produce depends largely on success of foreign trade policy.

"Our task is to have expanded our foreign trade by the start of the second decade and to have at least doubled its volumes", said Mr. Nazarbayev.