Kyrgyzstan Expands Beef Output: Feedlot Targets 7,000 Head as Food Truck Network Grows

Livestock farmers in Kyrgyzstan are expanding beef output and building up pedigree herds, with a newly opened commercial feedlot at the centre of the effort, MIR 24 reported. The broadcaster's correspondent Anel Dangulova visited the site, which was launched two months ago and now holds more than 1,000 young bulls.

Half of the animals on the lot were bred locally, while the rest were brought in from Kazakhstan and Russia, and the inventory is set to grow further. Erlist Akunbekov, Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, framed the project as a restoration of capacity that once existed on the same site. “We are reviving what existed here before. In Soviet times around 10,000 head were fattened here, and we plan to bring it up to 7,000,” he said, pointing to vacant plots on the property that are being built out to modern standards.

Feeding regime and weight gain

Animals receive grass, silage and balanced supplements containing proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, a ration designed to accelerate weight gain. According to the MIR 24 report, a bull can add up to 700 grams a day and reach up to 450 kilograms over six months. Feeding discipline matters as much as the ration: the programme was drawn up by the national livestock institute, and animals are fed strictly by the clock, at seven in the morning and seven in the evening. “That also affects weight gain — the body adjusts to a set routine,” said livestock specialist Zhamaldin Dzhayanbaev.

• Current inventory: more than 1,000 bulls, target capacity 7,000 head
• Daily gain: up to 700 grams per animal
• Liveweight after six months: up to 450 kilograms
• Fattening cycle: four to five months

Direct sales through food trucks

The feedlot's expansion is tied directly to a retail channel. Meat is sold through mobile outlets, where bone-in beef goes for 680 som — roughly the same figure in rubles, according to the report. “We buy calves from ordinary households and raise them here with our own funds, then sell to the public through our food trucks without intermediaries,” Akunbekov said. “At this initial stage we have 10 food trucks, but we plan 100 — to bring it up to 100 food trucks in the city of Bishkek alone.”

Retail pricing is built from the full cost of the cycle. “Cattle are fattened here for four to five months. Over that period we account for all feed, water and electricity, the work of veterinarians and livestock workers, then onward transport and slaughter costs. The cost price is set on that basis,” said Myktybek Kalandarov, head of the livestock and veterinary department. Officials plan to lower meat prices gradually as the herd and output grow, while keeping them at an affordable level in the meantime.

Pedigree herds and 3% loans

Alongside fattening, the state is pushing breeding work. Farmers can obtain concessional loans at 3% to buy pedigree cattle, a rate intended to shift herd composition toward higher-productivity genetics rather than simply increasing head count. Combined with stock sourced from Kazakhstan and Russia and a feeding programme supplied by the national livestock institute, the approach targets the two variables that determine domestic beef supply: how many animals enter the system and how quickly they convert feed into liveweight.