Agriculture accounted for 10.3% of Kazakhstan's GDP in 2005. Grain (Kazakhstan is the seventh-largest producer in the world) and livestock are the most important agricultural commodities. Agricultural land occupies more than 846,000 square kilometres (327,000 sq. mi). The available agricultural land consists of 205,000 square kilometres (79,000 sq. mi) of arable land and 611,000 square kilometres (236,000 sq. mi) of pasture and hay land.
Chief livestock products are dairy products, leather, meat, and wool. The country's major crops include wheat, barley, cotton, and rice. Wheat exports, a major source of hard currency, rank among the leading commodities in Kazakhstan's export trade. In 2003 Kazakhstan harvested 17.6 million tons of grain in gross, 2.8% higher compared to 2002. Kazakh agriculture still has many environmental problems from mismanagement during its years in the Soviet Union. Some Kazakh wine is produced in the mountains to the east of Almaty.
Kazakhstan is thought to be one of the original homes of the apple, particularly the wild ancestor of Malus domestica, Malus sieversii. It has no common name in English, but is known in Kazakhstan, where it is native, as 'alma'. In fact, the region where it is thought to originate is called Almaty, or 'rich with apple'. This tree is still found wild in the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang, China.
Industry in Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan Industry
Information provided by the Encyclopedia of Nations
Kazakhstan Mining portal
Information on the mining industry.
EIA
country analysis
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analysis from an energy perspective.
Agriculture
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Provided by FITA, Federation of International
Trade Associations.
Kazakhstan is an industrialized nation. Many of its cities in the north accommodate large chemical and steel plants, textile factories, and centers for processing nonferrous metals, especially copper. A good number of these plants and factories were moved east during World War II, when the Soviets did not wish their technology to fall into German hands. These plants and factories, which were housed in Akmolinsk, Karaganda, and Alma-Ata, form a relatively large machine building sector specializing in mining, construction equipment, tractors, and agricultural machinery. There were also foundries that produced copper, aluminum, and ore bars for use elsewhere in the Union. Source: AngelFire
