According to EurasiaNet, Kyrgyz farmers are experiencing their worst nightmare since they are not able to sell their produce after Kazakhstan closed borders, and the unsold potatoes are rotting away and depriving them of money to buy food. Farmers are desperate to sell the potatoes even for a loss, and many believe the problems they are facing today are direct fallout of the ethnic violence that rocked the country two months ago.

A farmer said that the price per kilo potato has crashed by more than half from what it was last year. The potatoes are priced at 14 cents but are selling at 10 cents though they received more than 30 cents in 2009.

Furthermore, a new customs union connecting Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus is also seemed to be creating difficulty in getting goods across the borders. The Union is understood to have increased the tariffs by three times, making Kyrgyz products dearer in the new bloc’s markets.

The UN Development Program (UNDP) told that the only way to reboot the Kyrgyz economy was by making the borders open for trade, at least Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Central Asian state hosting Russian and the US military air bases, expects the economy to shrink by 5 percent.

However, the World Food Program, the UN agency said it was preparing to bolster its operations in the country, where almost 350,000 more people might soon be in need of food. It also informed the threat stems from rising foods prices, a poor harvest, and the onset of winter.

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Both countries have maintained steady link with each other through top level talks and exchanges ever since Nazarbayev assumed office in 1990. The countries have always extended their co-operation in all spheres within the multi-lateral frameworks of the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.

Nazarbayev is a known ally of China in issues related to the Tibet and Taiwan. Even before the meet, the Kazakh president had reiterated his support for China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Kazakhstan and China share a borderline of more than 1,700 km, and bilateral ties got a boost especially after a rail link was established in the early 1990 through the Allah Mountain pass. The China-Kazakhstan Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 2002 has also helped both parties to improve their relations and do away with all outstanding border issues.

The Chinese president suggested four-pronged formula to Nazarbayev during the talks to boost and expand both countries’ bilateral co-operation to all areas. The Kazakh president not only agreed to the formula but also commended China’s effort in tackling the global economic crisis. On the other hand, Hu expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan for backing China on several occasions including issues related to Taiwan and Tibet, and while Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.

The Kazakhstan–China oil pipeline is China’s first direct oil import pipeline and will be 3000 km long once completed. The first stage of the pipeline became operational since 2003 is the major economic co-operation achieved by both countries so far.

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