March 15, 2012

Kazakhstan purchases 5,000 Estonian Hereford cattle

About 5,000 head of Hereford cattle from Estonia is being bought by Kazakhstan of which the first consignment of 500 head is to be dispatched from the Tallinn airport in the spring, the newspaper says.

According to the paper's information prices of the exported animals are in a range of EUR1,500-1,900 (US$1955-2,477) depending on individual value, which makes for an overall price tag of up to EUR10 million (US$13.03 million).

The honorary consul for Kazakhstan, Carl-Juri Piht, said the deal was clinched during President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to Estonia a year ago. The Ministry of Agriculture had the veterinary certificate for the export of pedigree cattle endorsed by Kazakhstan in January.

The chairman of the Animal Breeders Association of Estonia, Taavi-Tanel Bulitko, said that for sale are heifers in calf that will calve in their new home in two or three months' time and start giving milk immediately.

The transport aircraft accommodating 50-60 head will be equipped with special steel boxes for five heifers which enable the cattle to safely survive the journey. According to the agreement the transport costs will be covered by the buyer. Aircraft was chosen as the means of transport because it would be inconceivable to carry the heifers by road through Russia.

The paper observes that all the breeders who have sold heifers in previous years may not be interested in exporting this year as the large demand for milk in Estonia as well as in neighbouring countries forces them to pay more attention to their own milch herd.