January 30, 2004

Kazakhstan Has Capacity To Export Another Two Million MT 2003 Grain

Kazakhstan has the capacity to export another two million metric tons of grain harvested in 2003 even though they have already exported three million metric tons of grain, Agriculture Minister Akhmetzhan Esimov said in Astana Thursday.

Esimov said Kazakhstan exported in 2003 5.815 million tons of grain, including 2.8 million tons in the last three months of the year.

He said the pace of the exports was a record high.

Kazakhstan harvested in 2003 14.8 million tons of grain in clean weight, compared with 15.9 million tons in 2002.

Esimov said Kazakhstan may impose grain export limitations in the spring if they cause shortages on the domestic market.

He said the government's decision would hinge on the situation in Russia and Ukraine, whose own grain shortages in the current marketing season were stimulating greater exports from Kazakhstan.