Kazakhstan Seeks Faster Uzbek Transit Approval for Oilseed Meal

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Representatives of Kazakhstan's vegetable oil industry have called on Uzbekistan to shorten the time required to obtain veterinary approvals for the transit of sunflower meal and oilcake through Uzbek territory. The issue was raised during the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan Business Forum in Tashkent.

According to the Chairman of the Oilseed Processors Association of Kazakhstan, transit approvals under the current rules take about 30 working days on the Uzbek side.

"Sunflower meal and oilcake are essentially processed products. Under the current procedures, we wait almost 30 working days for approval from the Uzbek side," he said.

For comparison, he said transit approvals in countries through which Kazakh sunflower meal is shipped to Europe take no more than 10 working days.

"In Uzbekistan, virtually all of our oil processing plants wait three times longer," he said, calling for approval times to be reduced to levels comparable with those of other transit countries.

Davron Vakhabov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, said the issue would be discussed at the business council meeting the following day with the participation of a representative of the newly established food safety agency.

"Tomorrow morning we will hold the business council meeting. We will invite the deputy head of the newly established food safety agency," he said, proposing that representatives of authorities responsible for issuing business permits become permanent participants in the council.

Kanat Sharlapayev, Chairman of the Presidium of Kazakhstan's National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Atameken, supported the proposal.

"I fully support this. It is the right approach, so that they can take part in our business council and maintain a dialogue," he said.

Kazakhstan remains the leading supplier of vegetable oils to Uzbekistan and provides almost all of Central Asia with high-protein sunflower meal used in the poultry and livestock sectors.

According to industry estimates, shipments of vegetable oils and sunflower meal from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan will total around 650,000 tonnes worth US$440-445 million during the first nine months of the current season, up 27% from the previous season.

The share of packaged refined vegetable oil has also increased. During the first nine months of the current season, it accounted for about 38% of supplies, compared with around 30% in each of the previous two seasons.

In absolute terms, supplies of packaged refined oil have increased by nearly 2.6 times over the past three seasons.