May 13, 2011

Kazakh grain inventories show decrease

Grain inventories in Kazakhstan dropped by 9.2% on May 1, totalling 6.701 million tonnes, compared to 7.379 million tonnes on April 1.

The decrease in grain stocks in March was 8%. Total wheat stocks on the date were 6.163 million tonnes, falling in April by 8.5%, with the fall in March being 7.1%.

The current stocks are unlikely to last until the beginning of the next marketing year on July 1. Farmers would have to rely on fresh grass or use milling grain for animal feed.

In 2010, Kazakhstan harvested just over 14 million tonnes of grain, down from the 20 million tonnes harvested in 2009. The agriculture ministry said at the end of 2010 Kazakhstan would have enough grain for domestic consumption in the current marketing year and, taking into account the grain left over from last year, the country would have an export potential of seven to eight million tonnes.

Currently there are no government-imposed curbs on grain exports in Kazakhstan.