According to him, despite the fact that the country has achieved self-sufficiency in six socially important products, it still imports raw materials for oil production from the Russian Federation.
Baltabaev noted that climatic conditions necessitate the import of sunflower seeds from Russia; however, there is potential for substituting imports by cultivating safflower by local farmers.
“Safflower in Kyrgyzstan represents a promising oilseed crop. It grows successfully in the Naryn and Chui regions. Our producers have already started using local raw materials for producing vegetable oil, which sells well in the market. We plan to develop this direction to reduce dependence on imports,” he added.
Furthermore, the executive director emphasized that the government will support projects in these three "problematic" sectors through cluster lending programs. The main goal is to reduce the share of imports of bread, fruits, and oil by 5-10% annually, using preferential loans and subsidies to unite farmers and processors into cohesive supply chains.
