April 21, 2010
Kazakhstan grain exports slow down on global price slump
Agriculture Minister Akylbek Kurishbayev said on Tuesday (Apr 20) that exports of grain from Kazakhstan, which is Central Asia's largest producer, have slowed down as prices from other exporting countries continue to decline.
Kazakhstan harvested 20.8 million tonnes of grain last year, mostly wheat, and earlier planned to export 10 million tonnes in the current season.
"Due to the global price slump, the pace of exports has slowed down significantly," Kurishbayev said. He said Kazakhstan had 6.5 million tonnes of grain in stock after exporting 5.7 million tonnes from the 2009 harvest.
The price of CBOT May wheat has declined by about 18% so far this year.
To boost exports, Kazakhstan tapped new markets such as China and South Korea and offered shipping subsidies to exporters.
