Chotonov emphasized that there are no grounds for increasing meat prices in Kyrgyzstan.
“As a specialist, I disagree that meat prices should be inflated. We have 9 million 200 thousand hectares of pastures — such areas do not exist in any other country in the world. Animals can graze on these pastures for six to eight months. Horses, in turn, can stay on the pastures year-round, especially in winters with little snow,” he noted.
According to Chotonov, the rise in meat prices is not related to real economic factors.
“The increase in meat prices is an artificial phenomenon. Meat prices are artificially inflated. When exporting live cattle, they cannot be taken out. In the case of export, it is necessary to deliver the cattle to the meat processing plant, process it, freeze it, and only then sell it. This will help avoid a rise in meat prices,” he added.
Chotonov also noted that meat prices in the domestic market depend on the export value of live cattle that is sent to neighboring countries.
“Currently, live cattle are sold to neighboring states, and then our meat prices rise in accordance with the export value. No one is to blame for this except for the middlemen. In rural areas, they buy cattle at low prices and then set the same prices for meat based on the export price,” he reported.
According to the specialist, 65-70% of the population of Kyrgyzstan lives in rural areas and is engaged in animal husbandry, which allows the country to fully provide itself with meat.
“There should be no artificial price inflation — this is the result of the actions of middlemen,” concluded Chotonov.
