The Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan has published a draft order "On Amending the Order of the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 11, 2023, No. 166-НК, 'On Approving the List of Socially Significant Food Products'" on the Open NPA platform.

The draft order expands the list of socially significant food products. While this list previously included 19 items, the draft order proposes increasing their number to 33.

The Ministry of Trade proposes including the following items in the updated list of socially significant food products: tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, bone-in beef, boneless beef, ground meat, bone-in lamb, fresh or chilled fish, frozen fish, ultra-pasteurized milk, sour cream, hard cheese, and black tea. Each item will be further discussed with the business community, the Chamber of Entrepreneurs, and government agencies.

The primary goal of the temporary expansion of the list of socially significant food products is to make the most in-demand food products more accessible to the population and ensure price stability.

The expansion of the list of socially significant food products is a temporary measure and is being implemented to ensure pricing transparency for these products and eliminate unproductive intermediaries who charge high trade markups. This will create incentives for manufacturers of goods included in the expanded list of socially significant food products to increase production and expand capacity.

Including goods on the list of socially significant food products exempts manufacturers and importers from the obligation to pay remuneration and retroactive bonuses to retail chains. This will reduce the final cost of products for the population and allow businesses to use the freed-up funds for development.

Producers of goods on the list have access to government support measures, including discounted transportation through socially significant food products, fixed utility rates, preferential working capital, and other instruments.

Proposed list of socially significant food products:
1. First-grade wheat flour
2. Wheat bread made from first-grade flour (tinned)
3. Loaf bread (sold in bulk)
4. Buckwheat groats (whole grain, sold in bulk)
5. Polished rice (round grain, sold in bulk)
6. Potatoes
7. Table carrots
8. Onions
9. Cabbage
10. Tomatoes
11. Cucumbers
12. Apples
13. White sugar - granulated sugar
14. Sunflower oil
15. Beef with bones
16. Boneless beef
17. Ground meat
18. Lamb with bones
19. Horse meat with bones
20. Fish, fresh or chilled (bream, crucian carp, pike perch, pike, carp, vendace)
21. Frozen fish (pike perch, pollock, hake, flounder, mackerel, carp)
22. Chicken meat (chicken thighs, drumsticks, and thighs)
23. Chicken
24. Pasteurized milk, 2.5% fat, in flexible packaging
25. Ultra-pasteurized, sterilized milk
26. Kefir, 2.5% fat
27. Sour cream
28. Cottage cheese: 5–9% fat
29. Hard cheese
30. Butter (unsalted, at least 72.5% fat, without fillers or vegetable fats)
31. Chicken eggs (category 1)
32. Black tea
33. Edible table salt (except "Extra")

The Ministry of Trade and Integration invites all interested citizens, business representatives, and the expert community to participate in the public discussion of the draft order on the portal Open Regulatory Legal Acts https://legalacts.egov.kz/npa/view?id=15715467