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Kazakhstan rolls out plans to ramp up broodstock production
June 1, 2021 By Vladislav Vorotnikov
Kazakhstan considers building a network of new hatcheries to fuel the upcoming growth in the fish farming industry.
In early 2021, the Kazakh authorities finally approved a long-awaited fish farming development program with an ambitious plan to increase the domestic farmed fish production from 7,000 tonnes to some 270,000 tonnes per year already in 2030.
All in all, the authorities expect 541 billion tenges of investments (US$1.3 billion) to be pumped into the domestic aquaculture sector in the course of the coming years, including in four large-scale feed mills and nearly a dozen of hatcheries.
“The plan is to build seven to eight hatcheries in various regions. It is up to investors what species will be grown, but we expect them to be those which are in highest demand on the domestic market,” a source in the Kazakh government said, adding that the program’s ultimate goal is import-replacement on the domestic market.
The authorities are yet to prepare a roadmap on the industry growth, where a detailed plan of the broodstock segment should be laid down.
The new plan is likely to make the country a major fish exporter. According to the program, by 2030, Kazakhstan targets to become a major fish exporter, selling farmed fish for some $330 million per year to foreign customers.
In the approved program, the government stipulated that it was necessary to overcome the dependence on imported broodstock. It is estimated that on sturgeons, Kazakhstan has 66 per cent self-sufficiency on broodstock. This figure is 12 per cent on carp, while for all other fish species, this figure is equal to zero. The authorities promised to allocate state aid under new projects in the field of broodstock production.
In 2020, the government approved a subsidy for a 50 per cent reimbursement of costs associated with broodstock purchases for fish farms. This measure is expected to be maintained in the coming years to fuel the growth in the industry.
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