Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Aidar Abildabekov held a public reception for citizens at the central office of the "AMANAT" party. The meeting was conducted online via the ZOOM platform. During the reception, current issues concerning support for domestic producers, import supplies, and the implementation of a new product labeling system were discussed.

During the meeting, a resident of the East Kazakhstan region, Viktor Shinkeev, raised a question about the reasons for importing potatoes from Pakistan given the existence of domestic producers. According to the Vice Minister and representatives of the Trade Committee, Kazakhstan's annual demand for potatoes exceeds 2.0 million tons, while the harvested volume reaches 2.9 million tons, fully covering domestic demand. However, during the spring-summer period, when stocks of the domestic product decrease, additional imports from Pakistan and China are carried out to stabilize the market and prevent a sharp price increase. Currently, the situation on the domestic market is stable, and existing stocks are sufficient until the new harvest appears.

A representative of the Association of Light Industry Enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Saltanat Abdikarimova, requested clarification on the procedure for applying international GTIN codes for the fashion retail segment and also proposed providing a transition period of at least 6 months when implementing the requirements of the National Product Catalog (NPC).

According to information from ministry specialists, international GTIN codes are assigned by the GS1-Kazakhstan association, while NTIN codes are used for domestic trade turnover. In accordance with the Memorandum of January 9, 2026, the implementation of NPC requirements is carried out in stages: for importers and producers — until March 1, for retail chains — until April 1, and for small and micro-entrepreneurship entities — until July 1. A separate transition period for the fashion retail segment is not provided; however, methodological work considering industry specifics continues.

Following the reception, Vice Minister Aidar Abildabekov gave specific instructions to the heads of relevant departments on all raised issues and confirmed the ministry's readiness for close cooperation with business representatives.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mti/press/news/details/1178990?lang=kk