January 6, 2011

Kazakhstan's 2010 grain crop nearly halved at 12.2 million tonnes

Kazakhstan reaped a low 12.2 million tonnes of grain in clean weight in 2010, compared with a record harvest of 20.8 million tonnes in 2009, the state statistics agency said Wednesday (Jan 5).

It said wheat accounted for 79.1% of the Central Asian nation's total grain crop.

Kazakhstan, among the world's top 10 wheat exporters, produces far more wheat than it consumes. Annual consumption is steady at around 2.6 million tonnes.

Kazakhstan had earlier estimated its grain exports at up to eight million tonnes in the current marketing year, slightly below the 8.3 million tonnes sold in the last maketing year.