January 16 2003, 16:28

Kazakhstan upped farm sector output 2.7 pc in 2002

Gross output of farm produce in Kazakhstan in 2002 increased by 2.7 percent from the previous year, reaching 552 billion tenges ($1 = 155.75 tenges), including products of crop farming - 321.2 billion tenges (1.8 percent up), livestock industry - 230.8 billion tenges (4.2 percent up), Kazakhstan's state agency for statistics has informed.

According to the agency, area under crops increased by 1 million hectares compared to 2001, and reached 17.7 million hectares.

According to preliminary data, gross crop of grain constituted 16 million tonnes in clean weight - 0.4 percent up from 2001.

Crops of millet and maize increased by 17 and 12 percent respectively, those of rice and oats - by 6 percent each. At the same time, crops of wheat, barley and buckwheat decreased 9no figures of decrease have been provided).

Grain yield in the country in 2002 constituted 2.4 tonnes per hectare, against 1.83 tonne per hectare in 2001.

The statistics agency also informed that there had been registered a growth in all kinds of livestock and poultry head and in production of meat (3.1 percent), milk (5 percent) and eggs (13.3 percent).

The increase in livestock head and output was predominantly attributed to private rural households.