From 27 May until 1 June, spiritsEUROPE – together with six distillers from France, Portugal, and Greece – joined the 6th and final High-Level Mission (HLM) led by EU Agriculture Commissioner Wojciecowski to Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan.
As a country of 20mn inhabitants with the potential to feed more than 200mn people thanks to its large & versatile agricultural land Kazakhstan has an important role to play in the qlobal quest for food security. After the oil and gas sector, agri-food production is the country’s section most important economic sector, with great potential for the future.
Both Kazakhstan and the EU have rich culinary traditions & complimentary product offers, hence the HLM provided ample and timely opportunities to discuss how to deepen mutual trade ties and cooperation on technical matters such as better protection of products with Geographical Indications (GIs). The prospect of a future GI agreement between the EU and Kazakhstan was further discussed, and it seems likely that a mutual agreement could be finalized in the near future. Such an agreement will help to protect a number of European and Kazakh quality food and drink products and help cater for the growing appetite of European & Kazakh consumers for authentic, quality food & drinks.
In addition, the EU was the ‘Region of Honour’ at this year’s edition of the Interfood Fair in Astana – which provided the chance to facilitate business to business dialogue and showcase a range of iconic food and drink products from the EU at the EU’s Pavillion. As regards spirits, Kazakhstan has a long-standing culture of spirits production, including in major categories such as vodka and brandy – and consumers are increasingly curious to discover what the EU has to offer including innovative products such as low & non-alcoholic ‘spirits’. The Mission successfully opened the door to a number of follow-up actions at all three levels – high-level political dialogue, discussions on increased technical cooperation, and business to business contacts – and the members and spiritsEUROPE are grateful for the opportunities created by this important and timely trip.
