February 15, 2012

Kazakh wheat import on the cards for UAE

The United Arab Emirates is interested in buying wheat from Kazakhstan.

"In the light of large amount of grain crop harvested in Kazakhstan last year, the UAE is considering a possibility of Kazakh wheat import", said UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan at a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday (Feb 13).

The UAE president has also expressed intention to expand bilateral cooperation in oil, gas and petrochemical spheres.

Kazakhstan is one of the world's largest grain exporters. In 2011 Kazakhstan collected almost 27 million tonnes of grain in net weight. This is a record grain harvest within the years of independence.

Eight million tonnes of the grain harvest will be used for domestic consumption. Export potential is estimated at 15 million tonnes.