Kazakhstan to maintain grain exports in MY 2025/26

Kazakhstan plans to maintain grain exports above 12 million tons in the 2025–2026 marketing season, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov said at a recent briefing.

Grain exports for the current 2024–2025 season reached a record 13.4 million tons, according to Sultanov. “Taking into account this year’s harvest, we forecast that next year’s exports will not fall below last year’s level, that is, more than 12 million tons,” he said.

To date, 15.6 million hectares, 88.6% of the total planted area, have been harvested, yielding an average of 16.9 centners per hectare and producing 26.6 million tons of grain. This output will fully meet domestic needs for food, fodder, and seeds, while reinforcing Kazakhstan’s position in its traditional export markets.

Wheat has been harvested from 12 million hectares, 99% of the cultivated area, at a yield of 16.5 centners per hectare, resulting in approximately 20 million tons. Barley and oats produced 2.4 million tons, and corn yielded 852,000 tons.

Sultanov also noted that Kazakhstan has re-entered several previously lost markets, including Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, where demand for Kazakh wheat is on the rise. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has increased its imports of Kazakh wheat eightfold.

Licensed grain receiving enterprises have already received 6.7 million tons from the new harvest, twice the volume recorded at the same time last year.

As part of efforts to diversify crop production, special attention has been given to legumes and oilseeds. This year’s legume harvest reached 1 million tons, and the country expects a record oilseed yield of about 4 million tons, of which 3.3 million tons have already been collected.

Potatoes have been harvested from 99 percent of the planted area, totaling 130,000 hectares and producing 2.9 million tons. Sultanov said this volume should prevent the shortages and price surges experienced earlier this year. The vegetable harvest totaled 3.9 million tons, while melon crops reached 2.6 million tons.

Tags: Kazakhstan, export, wheat