The price growth rate in Astana, especially for food products, is one of the highest in Kazakhstan, with food prices rising by 25% last year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a meeting on January 31.
He noted that 14 billion tenge (about 2.1 billion rubles) were allocated for preferential loans for retail chains to combat rising prices in the capital, but these measures are not enough. Astana produces four times less food than Alma-Ata and half that of Shymkent.
“For years there has been talk of developing a food belt around the capital, but this work has not been done”Tokaev said.
The president said that Astana ranks last in terms of food production, and over the past eight years, the amount of food imported into the city has tripled. At the same time, the processing companies in the capital are half loaded.
“By 2025, more than 13,000 tons of vegetable storage capacity must be put into service in the city. The Ministry of Agriculture, together with the akimats of Astana and the Akmola region, should take effective measures to form a food belt around the capital.”ordered the president.
Tokayev also ordered to turn the capital into a “garden city” within three years, increasing the area of green spaces.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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