Kazakh onions are rotting. Agrarians ask to open exports

Kazakh producers asked the National Chamber to lift the ban on the export of onions. They are alarmed by the fact that the domestic market has enough onions, while the surplus is rotting, reports World of NAN, referring to Atameken.

The farmers demanded that the government urgently calculate how many onions are needed for the domestic market and allow the surplus to be exported.

Entrepreneurs from the Almaty, Turkestan and Zhambyl regions appealed to the National Chamber. According to Nurlan Nurbekov, head of the Altai LLP Nurlan Nurbekov, the spring planting campaign is coming, but there is no money to get seeds because last year's crop has not yet been sold. Especially since onions are a perishable product - if they rot, no one will compensate for the losses.

"At the moment, onions, which we have to supply to resellers at 150 tenge per 1 kg - is sold at a price of no less than 300 tenge per 1 kg. As a result, the buyers, even after deducting the logistics costs, get a profit of 120-130 tenge per 1 kg, and the producer has no opportunity to leave a reserve of money for the sowing work and the purchase of seeds for the next season," the farmer was indignant.

According to entrepreneurs, the activities of agricultural production cooperative actually goes to the interests of large retailers. And the burden of supplying produce to the market and maintaining prices falls only on the producers.

Farmers also may not grow onions in the future if the conditions are not settled. Given that this is a socially important commodity for the public, it is safe to say that the market is at risk.

"We already make concessions to the authorities every year and sell some of the product at low prices. If this continues and the ban is not lifted, we will not be able to plant onions next year," the entrepreneur added.

In addition, Nurlan Nurbekov noted that Kyrgyzstan has already lifted the ban on the export of onions.

"Kyrgyzstan put a ban after us. But now they have removed it. They understand that onions can not be stored for so long that farmers suffer from the ban," he added.

Recall, in January 2023, authorized state agencies banned the export of onions abroad.

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