Deputy Minister of Agriculture Zhanibek Kerimaliev responded that the republic is fully self-sufficient in six out of nine socially significant products, while for the other three indicators, the level of self-sufficiency is only 50%.
He specified that Kyrgyzstan is completely self-sufficient in the following products:
- potatoes,
- milk,
- sugar,
- eggs,
- meat.
Aisarakhan Abdibaeva also touched on the topic of grain crops, inquiring why the republic cannot achieve full self-sufficiency in this segment, given the availability of land resources and seeds.
In response to her question, the deputy minister explained that the volume of production is insufficient: out of 1.2 million hectares of arable land, only about 600 thousand hectares are planted with grains. Additionally, he noted that some hard varieties do not meet the necessary standards, but work is currently underway to update the varieties.
During the discussion, Abdibaeva remarked that, in her observations, the population has started to consume sourdough bread more frequently, while flour is mainly purchased from Russia. She expressed her concern about the unknown composition of imported flour and added that the flour coming from Kazakhstan also raises questions regarding its quality.
