Milk production statistics in Kazakhstan overestimated 50% due to data falsification

ASTANA. June 24 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Minister of Agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov, revealed that longstanding inaccuracies in the country's agricultural statistics have led to inflated figures.

Addressing the issue during a government session, Saparov acknowledged discrepancies between reported and actual data in both livestock and crop farming.

"While official statistics suggest there are sufficient raw materials in livestock farming, we recognize the data does not reflect the true situation," Saparov said. To address this, a specialized task force has been established to update and verify statistical data. The ministry plans to correct the records following the review by removing 2 million falsely reported livestock and 3 million tonnes of milk. Work is ongoing to verify crop production numbers," Saparov said at a government hour in the Majilis (the lower house of parliament).

Saparov also said that while Kazakhstan annually produces around 6.5 million tonnes of milk, only 2.1 million tonnes are processed annually, raising concerns about the mismatch between production and processing capacities

"With this amount of milk, how is there a shortage of raw materials for processing? This fact is explained by many years of distorting static data, both as they pertain to livestock and crop production," the minister said.