🌾 Kazakhstan Losing Positions in the Global Grain Market  

 

🔹 Decrease in Grain Exports from Kazakhstan Over the past five years, Kazakhstan has lost many grain-importing countries due to increased logistics costs and heightened competition. The recently opened Iranian market has become less accessible, and Afghanistan is increasing grain imports from Pakistan.

🔹 Limited Export Directions The main markets remain Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and China. However, exports to China are complicated by the low capacity of the logistics infrastructure, which requires expansion and modernization.

🔹 Competition from Russia Russian farmers achieve higher yields thanks to state support. Under similar conditions, they harvest 20 quintals per hectare compared to 12 in Kazakhstan, making their products more price-competitive.

 

At the international AGRICOM conference held in Astana, dedicated to the development of grain production, export, and import, it was noted that Kazakhstan is gradually losing its positions in traditional grain sales markets.

 

The General Director of LLP "AgroNexus," Saltai Katpaev, reported that over the past five years, the country has lost many grain-importing countries due to increased logistics costs and intensified competition in the global market. He noted that the recently opened Iranian market has become less accessible due to increased railway tariffs. Moreover, Kazakhstan's traditional partner, Afghanistan, is increasing grain imports from Pakistan, which has significantly increased its own production this year.

 

Katpaev emphasized that Kazakhstan does not have many directions for grain shipment, among them Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and China. He expressed concern about exports to China, pointing out the low capacity of the existing logistics infrastructure. According to him, currently, only two border crossings operate on the Chinese direction, a third is under construction, but in the future, it is necessary to increase their number to four or five. Katpaev believes that China is a bottomless market, especially considering Kazakhstan's relatively small grain production on a global scale.

 

Restrictions on the import of Russian grain into Kazakhstan, according to conference participants, although they contributed to stabilizing prices in the domestic market, did not solve the problem of competition in external markets. Saltai Katpaev noted that the volume of grain previously supplied from Russia to Kazakhstan is now redirected to the same markets where Kazakh products are present. He indicated that after the completion of the harvesting campaign in Russia, the cost price of their products will become clear, and Russian producers may either process the grain and sell finished products or lower prices and enter the same markets as Kazakh exporters.

 

The deputy and former head of the "National Agrarian Scientific and Educational Center," Toleutai Rakhimbekov, also expressed concern about the current situation. He stressed that Russia has made significant progress in changing state agrarian policy and mechanisms of farmer support, which allowed them to achieve higher yields. Rakhimbekov cited the example of the Omsk region and the North Kazakhstan region, noting that under similar soil and climatic conditions, the yield in the Omsk region is 20 quintals per hectare, while in Kazakhstan this figure reaches only 12 quintals. He pointed out that with the same costs per hectare, Russian farmers get one and a half times more yield, which makes their products more price-competitive.

 

Rakhimbekov noted that Kazakhstan's sluggishness in implementing agrarian reforms and modernizing the industry negatively affects the competitiveness of domestic products in the international market.