June 12, 2008

Kazakhstan to release grain from reserve, regulate market

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Agriculture announced to sell 195,000 tonnes of grain from state reserves until September 1, 2008 to regulate the domestic grain market.

The regulation came into effect on May 28, 2008.

In mid-April, the country halted wheat exports until September 1 to ensure local supply.

Kazakhstan harvested a record 20.1 billion tonnes of grain last year, 22 percent more than in 2006.

Of the total harvest, 16.6 million tonnes were wheat. Producers have so far exported over 8 million tonnes of grain from the 2007 harvest out of the 10 million tonnes planned.