ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 14. Kazakhstan plans to build a modern food hub on the basis of Khorgos international center for cross-border cooperation, on the border with China by 2026, said Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Trend reports.
He made the remark in a written response to a request from members of the lower house of parliament.
As he noted, the food hub will focus on food storage and distribution.
"Creating a food hub is a state-level task, the solution of which will give impetus to international trade," he said.
In addition, according to him, this will stimulate agricultural production and the formation of related infrastructure at the regional level.
As the PM noted, to implement this initiative, together with the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs - "Atameken", and the Association of Trade Enterprises of Kazakhstan, work is underway to legislatively consolidate the possibility of large-scale wholesale trade through trade and logistics headquarters.
Meanwhile, in mid-2023, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed to create a food hub in the Caspian Sea region.
"Kazakhstan has the potential to increase the export of meat and dairy products. We will have to consistently develop a modern logistics infrastructure to strengthen trade cooperation between our states. Therefore, we propose to create a Caspian Sea region food hub that will increase bilateral trade with minimal costs," Tokayev said at the time.