In an effort to encourage exchange and networking between participants, the second day of the 6^th International Kazakhstan Poultry Forum was held at the Astana EXPO-2017 “Energy of the Future.” Opened early in June, the Astana EXPO-2017 is devoted to future, renewal, and sustainable energy sources. Over 100 countries and 22 different international organizations will participate in the trade show, which will end in September. During the 93 exhibition days, a number of major international and cultural events will be held. It is estimated that the EXPO will host over 2 million visitors from around the world during the three-month event. However, the Astana EXPO-2017 is not only about new technologies and exhibition pavilions. Each country’s pavilion hosts events organized in conjunction with commercial companies and local Kazakhstan professional organizations.

The Kazakhstan Poultry Forum event was hosted on the second day at the Austrian Pavilion with the support of the Austrian company Biomin, a world-leading supplier in animal health and nutrition that develops solutions for livestock, with affiliates in Russia and Kazakhstan.
USSEC consultants Dr. Maria Domoroshchenkova (Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)) and Dr. Iani Chihaia (Animal Utilization) attended events at Astana EXPO-2017 to interact and follow up with local soy customers and learn about the status of the Kazakhstan’s poultry industry.
In line with EXPO-2017 agenda’s on sustainable development, research, and innovation, the topics presented during the second day of the 6th International Kazakhstan Poultry Forum were related to sustainable food production in a changing environment and how pollution from animal production should be minimized.
In their opening speeches, Ruslan Sharipov, the President of the Kazakhstan’s Poultry Union and Academician Vladimir Fisinin, the President of the Russian Poultry Union, reinforced the message that the developing poultry industry needs reliable solutions. The program continued with the keynote speaker, Dr. Franz Waxenecker, Director of Development at Biomin, who introduced participants to the latest trends, challenges, and the solution of animal nutrition’s impact on the environment.
Over 60 participants attended the event and learned about the challenges of the European and international poultry industries: antibiotics ban, organic production, and environmental impact of intensive poultry production. Colloquial discussions took place during event breaks and offered USSEC consultants the chance to meet with local industry leaders and gain an understanding about technical challenges that end users of soy products are experiencing. The conference ended with a tour through the Astana EXPO-2017, where the visitors were able to learn about the world’s effort for sustainable development of the future energy.

Prior to the conference, the USSEC consultants visited with Zhamal Zharmagambetova, the Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) Ag Specialist, to understand the current status of the poultry industry in Kazakhstan. Discussions were very informative and helped to understand how USSEC should support the local broiler industry in overcoming the continuous supply for high quality soybean meal.

During the period  2009 to 2015, Kazakhstan’s poultry industry doubled its broiler meat production, which reached 145,900 metric tons (MT) in 2016. Taking into account that the overall volume of Kazakhstan’s poultry market is estimated at 300,000 MT per year and due to several positive premises, including the local demand for broiler meat, the Kazakhstan’s broiler industry could repeat this achievement until 2020. According to the Kazakhstan Poultry Union estimates the demand of the local poultry industry in compound feeds will increase to 2,057 thousand metric tons (TMT) in 2020.
Maintaining a relationship with industry trend setters, focusing on top broiler integrations, and providing technical support on soy quality will maintain and potentially increase market share for U.S. Soy in Kazakhstan, the leading poultry industry from the Central Asian sub region.