IFPRI CA WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST (JANUARY 20 – 27, 2014)
News
Agriculture in Central Asia: Kazakhstan keeps looking northwest
(The Times of Central Asia, 23 Jan. 2014) Kazakh grain harvests for 2013 exceeded those of the previous year: 18.9 million tons versus 12.8 million in 2012. Russia is a major destination for Kazakh grain exports, primarily in regions bordering Kazakhstan. The article also describes improved production in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine for 2013.
Nazarbayev calls EU to support Kazakhstan's accession into WTO
(Tengrinews, 24 Jan. 2014) President Nursultan Nazarbayev called for EU support for Kazakhstan’s WTO accession bid following talks with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso. Kazakhstan plans to enter the WTO in 2014, but agricultural subsidies remain a sticking point. WTO member countries account for 96.5% of Kazakhstan’s external trade.
Kyrgyzstan's dilemma over Russian-led customs union
(BBC, 20 Jan. 2014) Kyrgyzstan wants to join the customs union led by Russia - although such a move carries risks. However unlike Ukraine, where there have been mass protests against closer ties with Russia, the Central Asia state has few other choices, reports the BBC's Abdujalil Abdurasulov in Bishkek.
Chinese interested in meat imports from Kyrgyzstan
(24.kg, 22 Jan. 2014) Delegation from Urumqi proposes opportunities for greater cooperation in the livestock sector, particularly in exports of Kyrgyz halal meat to China.
6 percent of Kyrgyz agricultural imports contain GMOs
(24.kg, 21 Jan. 2014) Chairwoman of Social Policy Committee Damira Niyazaliyeva discusses ramifications of imposing a ban on genetically modified agricultural products. Only 6 percent of imports to Kyrgyz contain genetically modified organisms, according to Niyazaliyeva.
Kyrgyz farmers apply for 140,000 tons of fertilizer (Russian)
(24.kg, 21 Jan. 2014) Farmers from Jalalabad and Osh regions account for over half of all fertilizer requests, according to Vice Prime Minister Taiyrbek Sarpashev. Uzbekistan has agreed to provide 60,000 tons in the first three months. Saparshev added that fertilizer imports from Kazakhstan and Russia are also being considered to supply the country’s northern regions. International fertilizer transactions will be financed by the State Material Reserve Fund.
Kyrgyzstan harvests 1.2 million tons of grains in 2013
(24.kg, 20 Jan. 2014) Grain harvests in 2013 were approximately 50 percent greater than in 2012 according to the Information Support Department of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Wheat harvests increased by 55%. Increases in both land allocation and yields account for the bumper crop, with wheat and barley demonstrating significant gains.
Tajik minister of agriculture expresses concern about closure of BCPs on Kyrgyz border
(ASIA-Plus, 24 Jan. 2014) Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan, Kasim Kasimov, expressed his concern about the ongoing closure of 4 border crossing points, out of total 5, between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan following a January 11 armed incident between border guards. Tajikistan almost entirely relies on Kyrgyzstan for a transit of agricultural inputs and machinery.
Ministry of agriculture: Tajikistan is ready to grow cotton for global defense industry (in Russian)
(Agroinform.tj, 24 Jan. 2014) Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan, Kasim Kasimov, noted about decreasing importance of the cotton production in Tajikistan amid growing production costs and decreasing demand and price for the Tajik cotton in a press conference. He informed that the volume of cotton production will be set mainly according to the domestic demand of the processing industry, and Tajikistan is ready to grow fine-fibred cotton varieties if there is substantial demand from international defense industry. Cotton was grown on 191,333 hectares of land, a 4% decline from 2012, and the minister projects cotton area will stay around 200,000 hectares.
A step toward food security in Tajikistan (in Russian)
(ASIA-Plus, 23 Jan. 2014) Economic analyst Hasan Abduhalikov explains that cotton production in Tajikistan has become unprofitable in the past decade due to a rapid rise in input prices and wages, along with declining soil quality. He further argues that the country should encourage poultry production in order to stem rapidly rising meat prices and meet domestic fertilizer needs.
Tajikistan poultry production on the rise, faces challenges (in Russian)
(Agroinform.tj, 22 Jan. 2014) Economist Farrukh Abduvosiev discusses the future of domestic poultry production. Tajikistan is dependent on poultry imports; in fact, according to the article, “Bush legs” (chicken legs imported from the U.S.) make up 80% of the meat market. Domestic production supplies only 30 percent of poultry consumption, with the rest imported. Abduvosiev states that increased competition as a result of Tajikistan’s ascension to the WTO (Tajikistan became a member in March 2013) could spur improvements in the poultry industry by encouraging the exit of inefficient enterprises.
Tajikistan courts Russian investment in hydropower sector
(Agroinform.tj, 23 Jan. 2014) Qodir Qosim, Chair of the State Committee on Investments and State-Owned Property Management (GosKomInvest) underlined the importance of the construction of hydropower plants for the country’s economic development at a conference of Russian and Tajik business leaders.
Turkmenistan ends free gas to its citizens
(WSJ, 18 Jan. 2014) Turkmen citizens will no longer have access to unlimited gas, in a cost-cutting move that according to one source could save the government around $5 million per year. The policy marks the end of a long-standing benefit accorded to the population.
Turkmenistan to allocate 545,000 hectares for cotton in 2014
(Turkmenistan.gov.tm, 10 Jan. 2014) The Turkmen president signed a resolution describing the country’s agricultural production targets for 2014. Cotton production was set at 1.05 million tons to be produced on 545,000 hectares.
In 2013 Uzbekistan’s GDP growth at 8%
(Uzreport, 20 Jan. 2014) President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, informed that Uzbekistan's GDP grew by 8%, industrial output by 8.8%, agricultural output by 6.8%, and the trade surplus amounted to $1.3 billion in 2013. Meanwhile, the share of agriculture in GDP decreased to 16.6% in 2013, whereas in 2000 it accounted for one third of the GDP.
Uzbekistan: Share of industry in GDP reaches 24.2%
(Embassy of Uzbekistan in Korea, 23 Jan. 2014) The share of industry in GDP in Uzbekistan grew from 14.2% in 2000 to 24.2% in 2013, according to the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. This was driven by technological modernization of industries including machinery and metal processing (+21%), production of construction materials (+13.6%), light industry (+13%), and food industry (9%).
Publications
Human Rights Watch World Report 2014
Human Rights Watch released its latest World Report, with chapters on all Central Asian countries. Of particular interest is Uzbekistan, where HRW has been active in addressing forced labor in the cotton sector. According to the report: “State-sponsored forced labor of children and adults in the cotton sector continues on a massive scale. Authorities forcibly mobilize over a million adults and schoolchildren, mainly ages 15-17 but some as young as 9, to pick cotton for up to two months each autumn. Living in the fields for weeks at a time, workers live in filthy conditions without access to safe drinking water. They contract illnesses, miss work or school, and pick cotton daily in line with quotas for which they receive little to no pay.”
In November 2013 Measure DHS published its final report on its 2012 Demographic and Health Survey for Tajikistan. The report is based on nationally representative household data, and covers a wide range of datapoints from survey components on housing characteristics, population, marriage and sexual activity, fertility, family planning, infant and child mortality, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and women’s empowerment, among others. The datasets and additional reports are available at: https://www.measuredhs.com/what-we-do/survey/survey-display-384.cfm
Back to Work : Growing with Jobs in Europe and Central Asia
Creating more and better jobs is arguably the most critical challenge to boosting shared prosperity in ECA. The World Bank report answers two questions: How can the countries create more jobs? Should there be specific policies to help workers access those jobs?. In answering them, the report examines the role of reforms, firms, skills, incentives and barriers to work, and labor mobility through the lens of two contextual factors: the legacy of centralized planned economies and the mounting demographic pressures associated with rapid aging in some countries and soaring numbers of youth entering the workforce in others.
ADB report from May 2013 identifies areas for improvement in the administration and application of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations, procedures, and standards in the CAREC region, in order to increase international trade. It recommends a set of concerted, coordinated measures designed to improve and reduce delays in handling perishable goods in transit (and particularly at border crossing points), ensure that food is safe for consumers, and prevent the spread of pests and diseases among animals and plants. The study is based on an examination of SPS measures as applied in the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan.
Leave a Reply