Kazakhstan Wheat Exports to Israel Under Discussion

Kazakhstan’s Food Contract Corporation is prepared to discuss long-term contracts to supply between 200,000 and 500,000 metric tons of food-grade wheat to Israel. Samat Tenbayev, deputy chairman of the company’s management board, outlined the proposal during talks in Jerusalem, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture said on November 4. The ministry did not announce any signed contracts or specify whether the proposed volumes would be supplied annually or over a longer period. Israel’s wheat imports exceed 2 million metric tons a year, according to the ministry. The country also buys barley, corn, and oilseeds, and the corporation is open to discussing supplies of other Kazakh agricultural products. Tenbayev cautioned that the long distance involved could make deliveries difficult. Kazakhstan proposed shipping the grain either through Azerbaijan and Georgia or via Baltic Sea ports. The corporation has already sent a trial shipment of grain to Armenia through Russia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The Food Contract Corporation buys grain from Kazakh farmers, stores it, and exports it. During the 2024–25 season, it shipped grain to Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Vietnam. Tenbayev said the 2026 harvest gives Kazakhstan room to export more grain, including wheat high in protein and gluten. The country harvested 24.3 million metric tons of grain in 2026, one of its largest harvests in 15 years. Kazakhstan exports agricultural products to more than 80 countries, the Agriculture Ministry said. From January through September 2026, it exported 8.4 million metric tons of grain by rail. Of that total, 5.5 million metric tons went to other Central Asian countries, mainly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Rail shipments to Afghanistan more than quadrupled compared with the same period in 2025. China buys grain, animal feed, vegetable oils, and oilseeds from Kazakhstan. In the first half of 2026, Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports to China totaled $1.1 billion, nearly double their value in the same period a year earlier. During the talks, Kazakhstan also expressed interest in Israeli technologies that help farmers save water, including water-efficient irrigation systems and the reuse of treated wastewater.