January 16, 2014

A Polish meat company is planning to set up a turkey farm and poultry processing plant in the southern part of Kazakhstan, where the designed facility is one of a number of Polish projects currently under development in the Central Asian country, reported local business daily Puls Biznesu.

Dariusz Chmura, director of the Polish-Kazakh Trade and Industrial Chamber (PKIHP), told journalists the investment was estimated to be worth about €65 million (US$89 million). According to Chmura, talks on financing the construction of a farm and related poultry processing facility are currently on-going between Polish and Kazakh banks. The association is also co-operating on the investment with local business organisation Chamber of Entrepreneurs of South Kazakhstan Region.

The PKIHP has decided not to disclose which Polish company is aiming to expand its business to the Kazakh market while talks are still under way. Meanwhile, representatives of Polish meat industry say they are familiar with the expansion plans, but claim the investment might be underestimated.

The project to open a new turkey farm in Kazakhstan has been known and discussed in the Polish meat industry, said one manager from a Polish poultry processing company. However, launching the project is likely to require the investor to provide more funds than initially planned, according to the manager. The industry representative said setting up a farm and related facility could be expected to cost as much as PLN500 million (US$164.5 million), which could double the investment.

With the aim of stimulating Kazakhstan's poultry processing industry, the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture has announced a programme for the long-term development of poultry processing until 2020. The programme foresees bolstering the country's poultry processing capacity over forthcoming years.