The Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan has announced the recommended price for saiga meat — 1,600 tenge per kilogram. The decision was made during the ongoing season of official hunting of saiga, which began on 3 July and will last until 30 November this year.
The final price was determined after an analysis of market conditions and logistics capabilities. Previously, the Minister of Agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov, stated that the price would be set within 10 days of the start of operations.
"The work has only just begun, and this is being handled by the Ministry of Ecology. Our task is to supply meat processing plants. To date, 18 such enterprises have been registered, and veterinary specialists are also present there. The price, logistics, and method of sale will determine the further process," the minister noted at a Government meeting.
It should be recalled that the hunting periods have been set differentially: for male saiga — from 1 July to 30 November, for females and young of the year (calves born this year) — from 1 September to 30 November. Needless to say, the authorisation to cull young of the year makes the "population control" programme particularly controversial from the perspective of the survival of the population of these rare animals.
Alongside the mass cull, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced an intention to gift China 1,500 saiga for resettlement in the western part of the PRC. The Ministry of Ecology stated that the issue of transporting the animals is being developed jointly with the authorised bodies of the two countries.
In 2024, the editorial team of FBRK compiled a complete chronology of the saiga cull that took place the previous year, in which we examined the numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in the actions and statements of representatives of the responsible departments.
For example, in 2023, as part of the 'population control' of saiga, the RSE 'Okhotzooprom' removed 43,503 individuals from the natural environment. However, only 1,132 carcasses were delivered to the LLP 'Torgai Et' meat processing plant in Arkalyk, of which 734 were processed into canned meat and 398 were deemed unfit and disposed of.
At that time, carcasses were accepted at a price of 315 tenge per kilogram, and hunters and trappers were paid between 7,354 and 8,113 tenge per carcass. Given the stated 43,503 carcasses, the state spent at least 319 million tenge, not including associated costs.
From the processed meat, 11,243 cans of preserves were produced, which were sold exclusively on the domestic market at a price of 1,000 tenge per can. As of April 2024, 10,288 cans had been sold, with 955 cans remaining in stock. And if you consider the retail price per can of stewed meat, there could be no question of fully recovering the costs.
Moreover, if according to the Ministry of Agriculture's data, 1,132 saiga carcasses were delivered to meat processing plants, where did the rest of the 43,503 carcasses claimed by the Ministry of Ecology go? One can only guess.
Interestingly, will the saiga extermination programme become economically viable this time, or will the rare steppe antelopes once again be sacrificed to state inefficiency?