July 21, 2011

Kazakhstan's grain production to reach 14 million tonnes in 2011

In 2011 in Kazakhstan grain sowing areas total 16.5 million hectares, including 13.6 million ha of wheat sowings, reported Jeanne Baytemirova, Head of the Analytical department at KazAgroMarketing JSC, on July 14, speaking at an analytical forum in Kiev.

She said that in the current year, there has been a decrease in plots sown with wheat (down 3%) in favor of feed crops.

The situation was due to the fact that Kazakhstan has a specialized program for the development of cattle for up to 2020.

Baytemirova noted that to date, it is quite difficult to talk about the grain harvest in Kazakhstan, because rainy weather has been ongoing.

He said he believes that if the rain stops in the near future, the overall grain harvest will be approximately 14 million tonnenes. At the same time, he said export potential could reach 7 mln tonnes of grain.

In 2010, Kazakhstan exported 8.2 mln tonnes of grain and flour in grain equivalent, AgriMarketInfo said.