Kazakhstani wheat exports down 40% due to competition in the markets

In eight months of 2024, Kazakhstan exported 3.13 million tons of wheat, down 39.2% from 5.15 million tons in the same period last year, Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev said at a government meeting.

According to him, the decline in wheat exports is due to the low harvest last year, as well as increased competition in Kazakhstan’s traditional markets. For example, Italy, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Russia have significantly reduced their consumption of Kazakh wheat. This is because other grain suppliers have begun to reduce export prices, which has led to the displacement of Kazakh products.

As for the next food season, the countries of Europe, South Africa and Ukraine have reduced wheat production due to bad weather conditions. Russia also announced that in 2024-2025 it will export 53 million tons of wheat, which is 10.1% lower than the previous season.

In the new season, Kazakhstan plans to export 12 million tons of grain, of which wheat will account for 7-7.5 million tons, barley – 1.3-1.4 million tons, corn – 300 thousand tons, and oilseeds – 1 million tons.

Of the 12 million tons, 4.2 million tons are expected to be supplied to Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan is ready to increase grain exports to China

In 2023, Kazakhstan exported 1.4 mln tons of grain to China, which is 5.5 times more than in 2022. Of these, wheat exports amounted to 538 thousand tons, showing a 15-fold increase.

Torebayev noted that Kazakhstan has the opportunity to further increase grain supplies to China to 1.6 million tons of wheat. To do this, it is necessary to work out the issue of delays at the border due to the requirements of the Chinese authorities, as well as the issuance of licenses and quotas for the import of Kazakh grain in China.

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Kazakhstan intends to increase grain supplies to China to 3 million tons by the end of the year, up from the initial target of 2 million tons. In total, in the first nine months of 2024, Kazakhstan supplied 1.3 million tons of grain to China by rail.

Representatives of Chinese companies visited Kazakhstan this month and expressed interest in additional supplies. Preliminary agreements were signed to import the first 100 thousand tons of grain and the same amount of oilseeds. At the same time, the Chinese delegation also stated that it would help solve problems with logistics and transportation of products.

In early August, the industry portal Eldala.kz reported, citing grain traders, that Chinese customs imposed a complete ban on wheat imports for companies located in the bonded zone of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Later, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted that trade with China was suspended for an indefinite period, and it would take time and effort on the part of traders to resume it.

Exports to European countries

As the harvest in European countries has declined this year, Kazakhstan is also considering increasing exports to Italy, Latvia, Spain, and other countries.

However, to do this, it is necessary to resolve the issue of transit of Kazakh wheat through Russia, as well as to reduce the cost of transportation for exporters, especially via the Trans-Caspian route.

As a reminder, on October 17, Russia imposed temporary restrictions on the import of wheat, lentils, flax seeds and melons of Kazakh origin, as well as tomatoes and peppers from third countries imported from Kazakhstan. According to the Rosselkhoznadzor, the ban is due to violation of phytosanitary requirements. In its turn, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan denied the charges.

According to Mr. Torebayev, preliminary agreements have already been reached to supply 1 million tons of grain to Italy, 600 thousand tons to Armenia, and 200 thousand tons to North Africa.

The potential for exports to Turkey and the Middle East is almost 1 million tons of wheat. The government is also promoting domestic products to the markets of Pakistan, Indonesia, Brazil, and Malaysia.

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Tags: Kazakhstan, export, grain, wheat