China is ready to receive pork from Kazakhstan as the former Soviet republic holds the ASF-free status.
China will receive the first shipment of Kazakh pork by the end of the year, according to officials from Kazakhstan quoted by Pig Progress magazine. According to Kazakh deputy agricultural minister Gulmira Isaeva, the trade deal with China is expected to be followed by several investments in the country’s pork industry, which is now in decline compared to the ’90s.
In 1990, Kazakhstan had a national pig herd of 3.2 million head. By now, the national inventory has dropped to 820,000 pigs. Pig population could grow back to 2.5 million head in case if export projects would prove to be successful, the Union of Pig Producers said. In 2018, Kazakhstan produced 87,000 tonnes of pork, which arguably is the lowest figure since the Soviet era. According to the Kazakh Union of Pig Producers, the country has the potential to export 100,000 tonnes of pork per year and is targeting China and Russia as its main potential markets.
