Agricultural export - The Times Of Central Asia

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Special Report: Prospects Look Good for Kazakh Wheat Exports

According to the International Grains Council, Kazakhstan's wheat harvest for the 2024/2025 season is expected to reach 16 million tons. As the harvesting campaign begins, the country's lack of elevator capacity and the problem of mainline railroads are concerns. Idle trains are still a problem, which leads to the introduction of regular restrictions and bans on the acceptance and shipment of wheat due to congestion on the railroad. Market participants note that the railroad cannot cope with the volume of shipments during the autumn rush, with its infrastructural ceiling on shipments at only 1 million tons of grain per month. This leads to a collapse at border railroad crossings and, consequently, a price drop in the domestic market. One obvious solution is to expand Kazakhstan's elevator capacity and grain storage facilities; this is one of the reasons for the increased load on the railroad infrastructure. Thus, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 191 licensed grain-receiving enterprises have a total storage capacity of more than 13.2 million tons. In addition, agricultural producers have storage capacities for 15.8 million tons of grain, which, as the ministry assures, is enough to store grain considering the projected harvest. Also, according to the ministry, the construction of new grain storage facilities and the expansion of existing ones are envisaged. In 2024-2026, it plans to operate five granaries with a capacity of 30,200 tons. The national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has already established a grain headquarters, involving representatives from local executive bodies, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken," and shippers. This headquarters ensures adequate transportation for the upcoming season's harvest. As Salamat Abzhaliyev, Deputy General Director for Marketing and Planning of KTZ-Gruzovye Transportations LLP, noted during the briefing held at the end of August, for seven months of the current year, the total volume of grain loading on the network of railroads of the country amounted to 4.7 million tons. Only in Kazakhstan did wheat transportation increase by 3%, amounting to 1.1 million tons. An important factor affecting the efficiency of transporting grain and milling products is the availability of specialized wagons. In addition to boxcars, grain carriers are designed to transport these specific cargoes. Today, the total fleet of boxcars and grain cars on the railroad is about 16,000 and 12,000, respectively. According to KTZ, this fleet is sufficient to fulfill all agreed transportation plans. According to forecasts of the International Grain Council, the export of Kazakhstani wheat in the 2024/2025 season is projected at 10 million tons. During the first six months of the year, 2.4 million tons of wheat have already been shipped. The main buyers of domestic grain are traditionally Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan, Italy, and Afghanistan. Grain exports to China have grown 5.7 times in the last three years, which makes China a key export destination. China is ready to accept large volumes of grain from Kazakhstan. Today, the country buys about 10 million tons of wheat worldwide, including from Kazakhstan. However, further development of trade is constrained by limited transportation...

Food industry Agricultural export Fish farm Export/import

Kyrgyzstan Seeks to Increase Production and Export of Fish

On August 23, Bakyt Torobayev, Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan, attended ceremonies to launch the construction of two fish processing plants in the country’s northern Chui region. The first plant, to be built in the village of Leninskoye at the cost of over $4.3 million, will have an annual capacity is up to 3,000 tons of processed fish products (mainly trout) and up to 8,000 kg of black sturgeon caviar. When operational, the second in the village of Ak-Jol, will create 45 new jobs and have an annual production capacity of 1,000 tons of chilled trout, 1,000 tons of frozen trout, 800 tons of smoked fish, and 400 tons of dried fish. Kyrgyzstan currently produces about 30,000 tons of fish annually, of which only 5,000 tons are exported. Citing the fact that the country had conditions to produce 105 thousand tons and export 50 thousand tons of fish, Torobayev recommended that emphasis be placed on the construction of processing enterprises. According to official statistics, in 2023, Kyrgyzstan produced 33,600 tons of fish and exported 5,556 tons of fish and fish products, mainly to Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Lithuania. Fish (mainly trout) are produced in Kyrgyzstan at artificial ponds and fishery farms at lakes Issyk-Kul and Son-Kul.

Export/import Wheat export Food industry Agricultural export Agriculture

Kazakhstan Bans Wheat Import to Protect Domestic Market

The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture announced on August 20 a ban on importing wheat to Kazakhstan. This applies to all countries, including fellow members of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia). The ban applies from August 21 to December 31, 2024, and does not apply to the transit of wheat through Kazakhstan's territory. The ministry explained that the move was necessary to protect the domestic market. In the first half of this year, Kazakhstan imported 1.3 million tons of wheat, which is almost equal to the import volume for the entire 2023. The country's domestic market has sufficient wheat left over from last year's harvest. As of 1 July 2024, Kazakhstan had wheat reserves of 5.1 million tons, including 4 million tons for food. Due to favorable weather conditions during this year’s growing season, the ministry expects a good grain harvest, which would create an excess supply on the domestic grain market, considering the carryover stocks. Kazakhstan's total area under grain crops this year is 16.7 million hectares. Regarding wheat production, Kazakhstan is in 14th place in the world, with a production volume of more than 12 million tons per year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Kazakhstan’s wheat production in 2023 stood at 12.1 million tons. Wheat exports in the 2023/24 marketing year (July/June) were estimated at 9 million tons.

farmers EAEU Agricultural export Agriculture

Kyrgyz Farmers Unite Into Cooperatives To Maximize Export Potential

This year, 47 new agricultural cooperatives appeared in Kyrgyzstan — a total of 741 associations. Experts say that merging into large farms will allow farmers to increase yields and the export potential of their products. In 2023, Kyrgyzstan exported more than 850,000 tons of agricultural products — vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat. More than 40% of these exports went to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). However, to increase the export potential and the geography of supplies, it is necessary to move away from so-called "small-scale production." When farmers produce goods in small batches, experts believe the way out of this situation can be the cooperation of farms. "The issue of creating cooperatives is a sore point in Kyrgyzstan's farming sector. For over 10 years, we have been saying there is a problem — small-scale commodity production. According to official data, we have more than 460,000 farmers in the country, but, unfortunately, there is no volume of production," Rustam Baltalbayev, Executive Director of the Association of Agroindustrial Complex (AAC), told The Times of Central Asia. Baltabayev said an agricultural co-op is the most convenient form of doing business in agriculture. It solves the problem of wholesale supplies abroad. According to the AAK, agrarians in Kyrgyzstan's southern regions — producers of white rice and bell peppers — are actively joining agricultural cooperatives. "This mechanism, in my opinion, is the most profitable and convenient regarding agricultural development. It is only necessary to finalize the legal forms so that large holdings could join associations," he noted.

Turkey Agriculture Trade Bilateral Cooperation Agricultural export Agricultural import

Kazakhstan and Turkey to Increase Agricultural Trade

During Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov's visit to Turkey on August 12, agreements were signed for Turkish investments of $2 billion in Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial sector and trade in agricultural products Six projects have already been implemented in Kazakhstan with participation of Turkish investors. The imminent launch of a further ten projects totaling $553 million, include the construction of greenhouse complexes, plants for deep processing of wheat and beans, and vegetable storage facilities. Armada Gıda, one of Turkey's leading companies in producing and exporting agricultural products, is to increase the import of lentils from Kazakhstan, while Tiryaki Holding, is to import of 250 thousand tons of Kazakh wheat. According to Minister Saparov, in 2023, the volume of Kazakh-Turkish trade in agricultural products increased by 13%. Kazakhstan has long exported crop products to Turkey and following the abolishment of restrictions in June, Kazakh agricultural producers can now begin exporting livestock products. Minister Saparov stated that Kazakhstan expects a good crop harvest this year and is ready to increase the export of high-quality agricultural products to Turkey.

Agricultural export Agricultural produce International trade

China Seeks to Import 20,000 Tons of Pork from Kazakhstan

Representatives of the Chinese Meat Association visited EMC Agro, one of the largest meat processing enterprises in Kazakhstan, with an interest in importing 20 thousand tons of pork per year. The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture reported that during their tour of the facility in North Kazakhstan, the Chinese delegation witnessed the processing cycle from slaughter to packaging. Fully automated, the process complies with international sanitary and epidemiological standards, with quality control monitored around the clock by a laboratory equipped with German analysers. The produce is then frozen. Regarding the company’s readiness to supply China with 60% of its produce, EMC Agro head Erzhan Yeleubaev stated, “China has great demands. Supply volumes must be stable and raw materials must be safe. Our meat is of high quality, we have no doubt in our products, and we are ready for fruitful cooperation. The Chinese market is important for us.” The EMC Agro meat processing plant has a production capacity of 20,000 tons of meat per year and 30 tons of finished meat products per day. In February 2024, China finally cancelled the ban in place since 2022, on the import of meat imposed by concerns over foot-and-mouth disease in Kazakhstan.