March 27, 2014

Kazakhstan's wheat export to Russia up 35.8% on-year

Between July 1, 2013 and February 28, 2014, Russia imported 571,700 tonnes of wheat via railway from Kazakhstan, 35.8% more than it imported during the same period of last agricultural year.

This is according to Tengrinews reports citing Interfax-Kazakhstan that referred to Deputy Director of the Strategic Marketing Department of RusAgroTrans Igor Pavensky.

Moreover, another 31,000 tonnes of wheat was imported in March 1-12, 2014. A total of about 900,000 tonnes of wheat may be imported from Kazakhstan to Russia this season, same as last season.

Most part of wheat, about 388,000 tonnes (64%), went to the Urals and 73,000 tonnes (12%) went to Moscow region, Igor Pavensky said. The wheat import to the Urals is growing, while the import to Moscow oblast is slowing down.

Besides, a substantial amount of grain is shipped from Kazakhstan to the Urals in trucks via a highway. Over the past months the amounts of these shipments have become comparable to those made via a railway, Pavensky said.

Russia is importing a total of 1.4 million tonnes of grain this year, whereas last year it imported 1.7 million tonnes, Pavensky said.

Pavensky said that Russia was planning to dispatch 20.2 million tonnes of grain (without flour or pulse crops), including 14.9 million tonnes of wheat, over two million tonnes of barley and a record amount of corn, three million tonnes, between July 2013 and March 2014.

The total export of grain this agricultural year will make 23.7 million tonnes, including 17.1 million tonnes of wheat, 2.3 million tonnes of barley and 3.8 million tonnes of corn.