Every citizen of Kazakhstan will feel the increase in the cost of agricultural products due to the introduction of the utilization fee - Abitayev

Each citizen of Kazakhstan will feel the increase in the cost of agricultural products due to the introduction of the utilization fee on agricultural machinery. This was stated by Farid Abitayev, Head of the Astana Business Agro Holding Company, during a teleconference on the issue of the utilization fee that was held the day before, World of NAN reports.

Farid Abitayev noted in his speech that the localization of agricultural machinery today is announced by the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development at the level of 30-40%, but in fact these figures are irrelevant, they are greatly overstated."We all know that harvesters and tractors, which are brought to Kazakhstan, get the wheels screwed only, the automobile industry also practice this. This has been going on for years. In fact, they receive benefits and preferences, they take from our pockets twice: through these benefits and now through the utilization fee. At the same time juggling with these figures on localization is very fraught," said Abitaev.

According to him, the utilization fee on agricultural equipment directly affects the farmers who produce food today, which directly affects every citizen of Kazakhstan.

"People can live without a car, TV set, chandelier, and so on, but how can they live, when every day the products get more expensive.

Today, agriculture has the lowest level of technical re-equipment. We have the lowest wages in the country today. At the same time the government has given us help in the form of an investment subsidy of 25%, but then it introduces a utilization fee of 20%. Yes, because of our poverty we dismantle the equipment we have today to pieces, use every used spare part, repair it, put it on the barely functional equipment we have left, just to survive," said Farid Abitayev.

He stressed that the introduction of the utilizaiton fee under the pretext of supporting the domestic machine-building or ecology will only lead to higher prices for food.

"All this sounds nice, but in fact, every Kazakhstani citizen will immediately feel the rise in price of agricultural products on his or her table. This is already happening today, when we see that the price of flour has gone up by 24%, and meat prices have risen by 20%. Why is this happening? We have the poorest wages in the rural  regions today, so everyone is fleeing from there," Abitayev concluded.

To recall that on the eve of the Kazakhstan Press Club and SPP "El Tiregi" held an online teleconference between Nur-Sultan and Almaty on the utilization fee.

During the teleconference the domestic producers of automobile industry, agriculture, cable and electrical engineering products and food industry unanimously declared that the new draft of the Environmental Code should be changed: namely to cancel the utilization fee (for various types of machinery and products) or to decrease its rates by several times.

Nurzhan Altayev, the deputy of Majilis and the Chairman of the Board of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs "El Tiregi", Berik Zairov, the head of the Union of Independent Automobile Business of Kazakhstan, Viktor Aslanov, the head of the Union of Field Farmers of Kazakhstan, Aidarbek Hodzhanazarov, the head of agricultural holding "Olzha Agro" and many others also expressed their opinions during the teleconference.

The editorial staff of the World of NAN portal is preparing a detailed video regarding the event.