Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- According to the Ministry of Industry of Kazakhstan, despite the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, there is a positive trend in the country’s coal industry.

For the first half of this year 53 million tonnes of coal were mined in Kazakhstan, which is 2.9% more than the same indicator in 2019. it is planned to extract 120 million tonnes of coal.

In terms of coal reserves, Kazakhstan ranks 8th in the world. The reserves recorded by the state balance are 33.6 billion tonnes. (3.8% of world reserves) and 10th place in the world in terms of production - 120 million tonnes (1.5% of world production).

Taking into account the fact that the coal industry is one of the most important resource industries in the country, in 2019 the Roadmap for the development of the coal industry for 2019-2021 was adopted, which provides for the implementation of the following measures:

First. Encouraging integrated processing of coal to obtain products with high added value. Experts note that Kazakhstani coal is generally uncompetitive due to its relatively low quality and high transportation costs, as a result of which coal is traded on export markets at a discount of 30 to 50%.

In this regard, it is planned to introduce modern technologies that allow the production of processed products from coal (ferroalloys, metallic silicon, building materials, carbon black).

Second. Expansion of geography and export volumes. In 2019, Kazakhstan exported about 28 million tonnes of coal to the Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Ukraine. In this year it is planned to export 38 million tonnes. Issues are being worked out to increase the volume of supplies in the direction of Ukraine, as well as to establish exports to the PRC.

Third. Providing a number of preferences. In particular, it provides for exemption from corporate income tax, land tax, property tax for enterprises that will produce new products from coal.

In general, experts conclude that the coal industry provides 70% of electricity generation, and also fully satisfies the needs of the public utility sector and the population in fuel. Based on this, the authorities intend to focus their main efforts on increasing the export potential of the coal industry.