July 26, 2011

Kazakh 2011 grain harvest to reach 16 million tonnes

Favourable weather has led Kazakhstan to raise its grain harvest to 16 million tonnes this year, Agriculture Minister Asylzhan Mamytbekov said on Monday (Jul 25).

The forecast is leaning towards the higher end of the ministry's previous approximation of 15-16 million tonnes.

Kazakhstan which is usually ranked as the world's top 10 wheat exporters, harvested 12.2 million tonnes of grain by clean weight last year, a drastic declination from the record 20.8 million tonnes in 2009.

The country also exported 5.9 million tonnes of wheat and flour in the 2010/11 marketing year ended June 30, falling from 8.4 million tonnes in the last 12 months.