USDA prepares for trade mission to Kazakhstan

USDA prepares for trade mission to Kazakhstan    The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invite 15 agricultural business leaders on a trade mission to Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, July 23-28.
   “Kazakhstan has the largest overall economy and the largest agricultural economy in Central Asia, producing and exporting more grain than any other country in the region,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a statement.
   Johanns traveled to Kazakhstan earlier this year to lead the U.S. delegation at the inauguration of President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
   The goal of the trade mission is to promote trade and investment, especially in agricultural commodities, food products, agricultural machinery and inputs, livestock genetics, and food processing equipment, the USDA said.
   The USDA added that trade mission participants will meet with government and agribusiness officials and have the opportunity to form partnerships with local entrepreneurs.
   For more information about the trade mission, contact Darrel Upshaw of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service by telephone at (202) 690-1339, or by e-mail at tabitha.coley@fas.usda.gov.