Kazakhstan launches program to reorient grain silos to oilseeds

The Kazakh agricultural sector continues to rely on oilseeds. The National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken”, together with the Grain Union of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Agriculture, is developing a program to reorient grain storage facilities into silos to receive increased volumes of high-margin crops.

The existing infrastructure is often not ready to receive new crops, which carries risks, – comments on the situation Evgeny Karabanov, head of the Analytics Committee of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan.

The answer to the challenge should be a new state program, which is being developed jointly by several associations. Its goal is to adapt the infrastructure to the realities of a diversified agro-industrial complex.

Although the program is still being formed and will not be launched until 2026, its contours are already clear. The key task is to attract money through state financial institutions. The main focus is on the reconstruction and modernization of existing capacities (replacement of equipment at silos or construction of separate lines for oilseeds/legumes), which will cost significantly less than the construction of new giants “in the open field”. In addition, the existing facilities are already equipped with access roads, laboratories and personnel.

The construction of new facilities will remain in the program, but only where the existing capacities are objectively insufficient. The main vector is a large-scale technological reboot of already operating silor enterprises. This will allow, using limited financial resources, to achieve the maximum effect and create the necessary conditions for farmers who have switched to oilseeds and legumes to sell and store their crops, the union notes.

Earlier it became known that this year Kazakhstan is expecting a record harvest of sunflower seeds – at the level of 1.7 million tons. The republic is systematically reorienting itself from growing wheat to oilseeds, the yield of which is growing, FAS noted earlier.

Tags: Kazakhstan, silos