Logistics Deadlock at Saryagash: "Astyk Trans" Postpones Grain Exports to December

 

The national grain transport operator, JSC "Astyk Trans," has officially announced a forced adjustment to its delivery schedule. Part of the requests accepted for November will only be fulfilled in December. The disruption was caused by critical wagon congestion at the Saryagash station, which has paralyzed the normal turnover of rolling stock.

Despite attempts by the railway administration to resolve the situation, the capacity of the border crossing has been exhausted. KTZ (JSC "NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy") has already introduced a priority regime for grain carriers and limited the loading of other types of goods, but these measures have proven insufficient.

The key factor in the delay has been the receiving side: Uzbekistan physically cannot unload arriving trains in time. This has led to a chain reaction — wagons are sitting idle, and their turnaround time on the Central Asian route has increased sharply. Under conditions of limited loading resources, fulfilling all obligations in November has become technically impossible.

To clarify the situation, "Astyk Trans" disclosed the distribution structure of its fleet. With optimal loading, the company is capable of providing 7,775 wagon shipments per month. However, free capacity for exports remains extremely low due to obligations in the domestic market:

• 3,500 wagons are engaged in intra-republic transportation (southern direction) to support domestic grain processors.

• 1,300 wagons operate under a contract with the Food Contract Corporation, ensuring the country's food security.

The remaining part of the fleet is allocated for export, where demand has significantly exceeded supply.

"Given the lack of diversified sales markets, the pressure on the only available direction is colossal. With a plan for Central Asia of 2,500 wagons per month, requests averaged 5,000 wagons. The situation was aggravated by a surge in shipments in October, which exceeded annual average indicators by 25%," the company noted.

In the current force majeure circumstances, the operator has offered clients a compromise solution — the prolongation of existing grain delivery contracts.

For its part, "Astyk Trans" promises to do everything possible to accelerate the return of wagons and stabilize the schedule in order to minimize the impact on exporters' plans.