Minister of Industry praises the efficacy of export restrictions

According to Marat Karabayev, the minister of industry and infrastructural development of Kazakhstan, government-imposed restrictions on commodity exports have proved their efficacy.

«The measures we’ve taken to restrict commodity exports let us manage the problem of commodity good shortages in the domestic market. We shipped more commodities to local producers, increased the degree of goods processing and replace many imported things with domestic products,» he said during the meeting with Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.

The official also noted that this work continued throughout last year. As a result, the ministry orchestrated the signing of seven agreements concerning the supply of aluminum to local producers. This material is necessary to produce aluminum extrusion, cable and other products.

The ministry was an active supporter of commodity export restrictions. For instance, the government banned the export of metal scrap in order to force this material to be shipped to local producers of steel. Also, the authorities imposed restrictions on the exports of PET waste. They wanted this material to be processed by local producers of polymers. In 2022, industrial production grew by 1.1%, while the processing industry increased by 3.4%.