A large meat processing plant will promote Kazakhstan in the ranking of world producers

Kazakh Meat producers are ready to take a big step to move into the top meat players in the world, ex-Minister of Agriculture Asylzhan Mamytbekov told a Kapital.kz correspondent. The barrier to this is the government's ban on the Export of cattle, he notes.

"A large foreign investor does not come into meat processing, because uninterrupted supplies of cattle of stable quality are needed for profitable production. For this, a certain number of suppliers - farmers and feedlots - are needed within a radius of 500 km from the meat processing plant. Periodically introduced and currently in force ban on the export of live cattle interferes with the development of the industry, does not allow businesses to build even medium-term plans," said Asylzhan Mamytbekov.
Conditional slaughter weight of cattle according to industry standards is 220-225 kg. On average, manufacturers in Kazakhstan have not yet reached this figure. IT is with this weight that the profitability of meat processing begins. According to the Meat Union of Kazakhstan, over the years of the formation of beef cattle breeding in the Republic of Kazakhstan, it was possible to increase the average slaughter weight from 154 to 174 kg, but this is still not enough.
According to the ex-minister, the slaughter weight is growing due to pedigree transformation, that is, the correct use of breeding stock in a commercial herd to obtain a better offspring. In the process of work, there are cattle that are subject to culling, there are surpluses, and this cattle must be sold at a fair price live. There is a demand for such livestock, but today, due to current restrictions, farmers are unable to sell live livestock, which reduces the income of the industry, which means that it negatively affects both the process of improving the livestock and the number of farmers keeping animals. Thus, the development of the industry is slowing down and the interest of investors in investing in meat processing in the Republic of Kazakhstan is decreasing.
As for the domestic meat market, for the sake of stabilization of which bans are introduced, according to the Meat Union, producers have long been steadily covering domestic demand. In 2021, Kazakhstan produced 540 thousand tons of meat with an annual consumption of 450-460 thousand tons. The 100,000 difference between production and consumption is the volume that makes up the export potential and gives farmers the opportunity to earn money to invest in future growth.
The meat processing complex should become the final link in the development of the industry and should be a major player with a processing capacity of several thousand heads per day. Only in this way can the products of Kazakhstan be competitive in the world markets. World experience shows that large meat processing plants in a stable market give an impetus to production, provided that borders are open for export.
"In the USA, where the number of livestock is many times greater than in Kazakhstan, 80% of livestock is slaughtered at 15-18 large meat processing plants, because due to economies of scale they can be competitive and earn. Our almost backyard slaughter for our farm does not allow deep processing of products, which means that a lot of what can be sold goes to waste. And this is already included in the cost. Under these conditions, our meat cannot be competitive and sell well in other markets," the ex-minister notes.

The idea of ​​building a large meat processing plant is not a fantasy, says Asylzhan Mamytbekov. The market has proved that it can revolutionize and implement big projects that yesterday seemed unmanageable.
"10 years ago they said that feedlots can fill a maximum of 50-300 heads. Now in Kazakhstan there are sites for 22 thousand in Kostanay, in Aktobe - 18 thousand. Therefore, the next logical step for the industry is the construction of a large modern meat processing plant, which will Process farm products as much as possible We now waste a lot of what others are chasing Large meat processing plants can meet the demand of China, countries of Asia, the Middle East, where there are different cultures of meat consumption. And the same McDonalds. In this case, the ultimate beneficiary in this chain is the farmer who will have the highest margin," says Asylzhan Mamytbekov.
The emergence of a large meat processing plant will be a logical move in building an industry pyramid, the ex-minister notes. Previously a guest of the international livestock forum Lepsi 2022 Frank Graves (USA) expressed the opinion that Kazakhstan has the largest beef production potential in the world.