Kazakhstani barley has become very attractive in price for importers

In the current marketing year, there has been a significant increase in the export of Kazakh barley to Iran. This season, it has become very attractive in price for buyers. According to the Analytics Committee of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, the bulk of barley has already been sold, the remainder in the country is minimal. The export forecast has been increased to 1.85 million tons.

The growth in export volumes of Kazakh barley to Iran is due to the following factors:
– a good barley harvest in Kazakhstan (3.84 million tons according to the National Statistics Service);
– a significant reduction in the harvest in Russia, which was previously the main supplier of barley to Iran;
– a decrease in supplies from other countries, primarily from the EU and Ukraine, due to the tightening of sanctions against Iran, and, as a result, difficulties with insurance, freight and payments.

“At the same time, due to high prices for barley in the Russian Federation and favorable logistics, Kazakhstani barley is very attractive in price this season, compared to other suppliers,” said Yevgeny Karabanov, Head of the ZSK Analytics Committee.

Thus, in the current MY there are two main buyers of Kazakhstani barley: Iran, with a significant increase in volumes, almost 30 times, compared to 7 months of the last MY, and China, which reduced barley imports from Kazakhstan by 1.5 times, compared to 7 months of MY 2023/24.

In general, over 7 months of the current MY, compared to the same period last season, Kazakhstan has almost doubled the volume of barley exports.

At the same time, due to the active presence of two main buyers, barley prices on the domestic market grew very dynamically: from 50-52 thousand tenge in September to 88-91 thousand tenge at the end of April, and the export price on FOB Aktau increased over the same period from 163-165 USD / t to 235-237 USD / t.

Also, it should be noted the emergence of new buyers on the market, in the person of Iraq and Azerbaijan, who were not present in the last MY.

Thus, the bulk of Kazakhstani barley has already been exported, the remains on the domestic market are minimal. Many farmers, under the influence of high demand and prices in the current season, held back part of the volumes of barley for seeds in order to increase the sowing area in 2025.

Due to the reduction in the use of barley as feed on the domestic market due to the high price, the Grain Union’s early forecast for barley exports in MY 2024/25 of 1.75 million tons has been increased to 1.85 million tons.

Tags: Kazakhstan, barley