Kazakhstan records a weak start to durum wheat exports

Kazakhstan has reported a significantly weaker start to durum wheat exports in the current marketing year compared with last season. In the first four months of the 2025/26 marketing year (September–December 2025), the country exported 46,100 tonnes of durum wheat, which is 2.2 times less than in the same period a year earlier.

In December 2025, exports of durum wheat (excluding EAEU countries) totaled 30,700 tonnes. While this was 8.3 times higher than in November, it was still 27% lower than in December of the previous marketing year, highlighting the overall sluggish performance of the season.

Italy remained the main buyer of Kazakh durum wheat, but its purchases dropped sharply. During September–December 2025/26, Italy imported just 9,400 tonnes, a 6.7-fold decline compared with the same period of the 2024/25 marketing year.

Besides Italy, Kazakhstan exported durum wheat to Turkey — 21,600 tonnes (up 27 times year on year), Latvia — 7,200 tonnes (down 3.7 times), Uzbekistan — 1,200 tonnes (up twofold), and Tajikistan — 1,000 tonnes (down 4.7 times). Supplies were also made to Portugal (2,200 tonnes) and Afghanistan (2,100 tonnes), markets that had not imported Kazakh durum wheat during the same period last season.

According to the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, the poor start to the season is mainly due to a strong durum wheat harvest in key producing countries in the EU and Canada, which intensified competition on the global market. High logistics costs for shipments to the EU and Turkey also weighed on exports.

In addition, uncertainty over the extension of transport subsidies for wheat exports to distant markets in 2026 has restrained trading activity. However, the Grain Union expects exports of durum wheat to pick up from January 2026 once funds for transport cost subsidies are allocated and has kept its export forecast for the current marketing year unchanged at 300,000 tonnes.

Tags: Kazakhstan, export