Logistics may sink Kazakhstan's grain export plans

Kazakhstan has pledged to lift a ban on grain exports on September 1, but warned bumper harvests in Russia and Ukraine this year could clog transport routes it uses to access western grain markets.

 

 

Akylbek Kurishbaev, the Kazakh agriculture minister, said a surge in Russian and Ukrainian grain exports anticipated this autumn could prevent Kazakhstan from accessing Black Sea and Azov Sea ports and railway lines serving the ports.

 

Ukraine's grain production could jump by as much as 40 percent this year, he noted.

 

As a result of intense grain loadings by Russian and Ukrainian traders between September and December, Black and Azov Sea ports will be fully loaded until the new year, thereby preventing Kazakh grain exports, he said.

Kazakhstan sold just under half of last year's record 20.1 million-tonne harvest to world markets where its grain is prized for its high gluten and protein content.

 

Mr Kurishbaev said Kazakhstan would produce 16 million  to 17 million  tonnes of grain this year, if weather conditions were favourable. It plans to boost the figure to at least 22 million tonnes within the next few years.