🌾 Chinese Market Closed? Kazakhstan Faces New Restrictions on Wheat Exports to China

 

🔹 Unconfirmed Import Restrictions: According to reports from partners, China has imposed restrictions on the import of wheat from Kazakhstan into the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which was previously exempt from a 65% tariff.

🔹 COFCO Quotas: Without quotas, mainly controlled by China's state grain corporation COFCO, importing wheat is now nearly impossible.

🔹 Potential Consequences: Unconfirmed restrictions may lead to an excess of grain in Kazakhstan and a drop in prices, considering the expected abundant harvest.

 

Information about new trade restrictions from China concerning wheat imports from Kazakhstan has come from partners, not official sources, reports www.eldala.kz. According to Chinese counterparts, a complete ban on wheat imports has been imposed on the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where it was previously possible to import without paying the 65% duty. Now, wheat can only be imported duty-free within quotas mainly controlled by the state grain corporation COFCO.

 

Kazakh exporters were caught off guard as Chinese companies are requesting a halt to shipments due to a lack of available quotas. Even shipments that have already been sent may not be accepted. It is important to note that this restriction does not apply to other grains, such as barley, flax, safflower, feed flour, and bran, which are not subject to quotas.

 

These measures, still unconfirmed officially, could seriously impact Kazakhstan's agricultural sector, given the expected high harvest. It is worth noting that China annually imports about 40 million tons of various grains, including about 10 million tons of wheat.