The Ministry of Trade and Integration discussed measures to curb prices on socially significant food products (SЗПТ), reports a correspondent from the Kapital.kz business information center, citing the press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration.
The First Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration, Aizhan Bizhanova, noted that the rate of price growth for SЗПТ has begun to slow down.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, as of February 18, the price index for SЗПТ has increased by 2.6% since the beginning of the year, with a 0.4% rise over the last week, compared to 0.6% the week prior. Over the week, prices for certain products decreased, including pasta (down 0.2%), chicken meat (down 0.1%), rice (down 0.4%), potatoes (down 0.4%), eggs (down 0.5%), and carrots (down 0.7%). Prices for bread and milk remain stable. Low price growth rates have been recorded in Almaty, Akmolinsk, East Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan regions.
The ministry indicated that the reduction in prices is also aided by the organization of agricultural fairs without intermediaries. The First Deputy Minister emphasized the need to strengthen these activities before the new harvest begins.
Decisions have been made to ensure regular fairs are held in convenient locations for the public, involving agricultural producers directly; to organize contracts for sunflower oil from the reserves of the National Food Contract Corporation at accessible prices. Algorithms for effective cooperation between akimats and beef producers as well as slaughterhouses in various regions have been discussed for the further sale of products through trade outlets. Regarding cabbage, the Turkestan region has expressed readiness to compile a list of producers for organizing contracts for the early harvest.
The ministry reminded that starting from mid-March 2025, exceeding the trade markup on SЗПТ will result in a fine instead of a warning.
Recall that from January to April 2025, the oil plant "OskemenAgroProdukt" will supply 83.2 thousand liters of sunflower oil to the Food Corporation. The product will be obtained through a pilot program for tripartite forward purchases of sunflower and sunflower oil.
In January, annual inflation accelerated in 14 regions, while it remained unchanged in six. The highest annual inflation rate was recorded in Astana. Prices for food products in January rose to 5.8% year-on-year (compared to 5.5% in December 2024). The maximum price increase in this category occurred in the Zhetysu region (7.9%), while the minimum was in the Turkestan region (3.3%).
As a result of January 2025, annual inflation in the country accelerated to 8.9%, up from 8.6% in December 2024. Monthly inflation growth across the country was 1.1% in January.