The Ministry of Agriculture introduced restrictions on the export of sunflower seeds from July 8 to September 30. The total volume of the quota is small - 15 thousand tons, and export applications were distributed in just three working days. Dozens of traders were rejected. Left without work for the next three months, the exporters prepared a collective letter to the Ministry of Agriculture with a request to allocate an additional quota. They forwarded the appeal to the relevant department through NCE Atameken.
As Nadezhda Stepura, Director of Prom Line LLP, told the ElDala.kz portal, the distribution of the quota was carried out according to a simplified procedure, as phytosanitary certificates were issued. To receive certificates, traders brought seeds from the regions and prepared them for shipment. But since the quota was quickly exhausted, entrepreneurs now need to either return unsold products or store the "seed" until October.
“In order to bring sunflower seeds to the place of shipment, our transportation costs amounted to 2.5 million tenge. But it turned out to be such a race. The quota was given for three months, and it was exhausted in three working days. On Friday, July 8, the distribution began, we, having collected the documents, submitted an application on Monday. And already on July 13 we were informed that we did not have time. And there are many such traders in East Kazakhstan. Therefore, we turned to Atameken with a request that they help entrepreneurs,” said Nadezhda Stepura.
In a collective letter, traders ask the Ministry of Agriculture to increase the volume of quotas, as well as return to the previous order of their distribution. In the case of allocation of additional volumes, they ask to exclude from consideration those applicants who have already received a quota.
“If the quota is not given, we will remain unemployed until October. Damage to products is also possible, because not all traders have warehouses for storage. Loading into wagons most often comes from wheels. Therefore, you will have to return products to warehouses, incurring additional costs. We have already ordered wagons, concluded contracts, today or tomorrow prepayments from buyers should begin to arrive. You need to settle accounts with your sellers or take the seed back to them. Therefore, we kindly ask you to increase the quota for those who did not make it in this race,” the director of the company noted.
Traders pay attention to the fact that quotas for the export of the last crop are now being distributed. The new harvest in Kazakhstan is expected to be high, taking into account favorable weather conditions.
“The current 15 thousand tons for export is very small for such a large number of exporters. There were about 280 applicants in previous applications. The maximum quota per applicant is now set at 500 tons. Accordingly, if we divide these 15 thousand tons, then only 30 firms from all over Kazakhstan have a real opportunity to export. Therefore, we ask you to support us and allocate additional volume,” concluded Nadezhda Stepura.
In just a day, about a dozen companies from the East Kazakhstan region turned to Atameken with a request to assist in resolving the issue, and the number of those ready to sign the appeal to the Ministry of Agriculture will probably grow.
It should be noted that the day before, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke about the introduction of export restrictions. He instructed the government to analyze the effectiveness of this mechanism.
“Today, decisions to ban the export of certain products are made without taking into account the balance of goods. This leads either to a shortage or to a decrease in the attractiveness of the production of necessary goods. As a result, the effectiveness of such measures drops sharply.
The government should approve the Rules for Forming the Balance of Key Commodities and, most importantly, develop a unified monitoring information system. This will allow us to have reliable data on product balances for decision-making,” the president said.