In Kazakhstan this year, along with sprouted, unclassified grain, there is a large volume of class 4 and 5 wheat, which is being sold for next to nothing. To increase the price, the state needs to buy up the bulk of it. This opinion was expressed by ex-Minister of Agriculture Asylzhan Mamytbekov. In his opinion, this measure would make it possible to balance supply and demand, perishable non-grade grain would be more easily utilized in the domestic market by the demand for fodder, and the price would increase, reports the APK News agency.
“In our country, about 12 million hectares of arable land are occupied by wheat. This is approximately 2/3 of the entire spring sown arable land. Considering that the average long-term wheat yield is about 11-12 kg/ha, the average annual gross wheat harvest is about 13-14 million tons,” A. Mamytbekov said on his Facebook page.
About 2 million tons are used for seeds;
about 2 million tons are used for food purposes;
about 2.5 million tons are used for fodder and technological processing (alcohol, etc.).
The remaining 6.5 -7.5 million tons of wheat are exported annually.
Kazakh wheat, which is of excellent quality and has high performance, is often used for fodder and technological processing in our country.
“Such indicators are largely unattainable for other countries that buy our wheat as food grain, and also, often, as a grain improver. Wheat of the same quality as ours grows, besides our country, only in a few countries located at a similar geographical latitude in both hemispheres of the Earth and having a sharply continental climate. These are Canada, the USA, Australia, Argentina and a small part of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the excellent quality of our wheat is largely due to the peculiarities of our climate,” noted A. Mamytbekov.
Of course, he noted, it would be possible not to send the wheat used for fodder to feed livestock, but it would be possible to sell it for export. But such waste is forced.
“After all, where can a farmer get other grains? In normal years, grades 4 and 5 (feed grain, especially) are simply not produced here. If earlier - in the 90s in the northern regions of Kostanay and North Kazakhstan regions, due to failure to comply with sowing and harvesting deadlines (there was simply not enough equipment), poor varieties of seeds often did not reach class 3 wheat parameters, but now this problem is almost solved. Optimal timing and early ripening varieties did the right thing. In normal years, the share of 4th, 5th grade and extra-class grain in the harvest is minimal,” said A. Mamytbekov.
Bringing feed grain from somewhere, taking into account transport costs, will be expensive. Therefore, farmers often feed our wheat, which is considered an improver in many countries, to poultry, livestock, and send it for alcohol production.
This year has been very difficult and abnormal. Even seasoned old-timers and veterans do not remember such weather surprises. The dry spring and first half of summer in the main grain-growing regions turned into prolonged, heavy rains in August. Continuous rainfall occurred during the flowering and grain ripening phases. All this was accompanied by warm atmospheric temperatures day and night, which was also uncharacteristic for these places. After the crop ripened, unrelenting rains made harvesting impossible. The combines simply could not enter the field - they sank. Cleaning proceeded in fits and starts and dragged on until November. Farmers took advantage of the days when there was a gap between rainfall. After all, it was necessary not only to wait for the “window” between rains, but also when the soil was more or less dry, so that the equipment could enter the fields. And with each new rain these pauses became longer and longer.
As a result, the wheat became overripe in the ear and began to crumble (autumn showers were accompanied by winds). Harvest losses amounted to up to 50%. Not only did the grain fall off, but the grain that remained in the ear began to germinate. Accordingly, prices and demand for such grain have decreased.
“The feed value of such grain decreases insignificantly, but such grain cannot be stored for a long time. But along with the sprouted, unclassified grain, this year, due to abnormal weather, a lot of 4th and 5th class wheat was harvested. Somewhere there was not enough gluten and protein, often the falling number index was low. That is, the grain is not suitable for baking, but is excellent as livestock feed. Here we must take into account that due to the lack of immediate demand in such a volume for fodder, prices simply collapsed,” stated A. Mamytbekov.
In his opinion, in such a difficult agricultural year, it would be right for the state to support the agricultural sector by buying a significant amount of grade 4.5 wheat.
Firstly, it would increase the prices of 3rd class food grains, for which prices have also fallen due to the widespread sale of 4th class food grains for next to nothing and the influx of Russian wheat into our domestic and our traditional export markets. Due to low prices for a small harvest of good grain, farmers are experiencing great financial difficulties.
Secondly, by purchasing conditioned wheat of classes 4 and 5 (there is no talk of buying unclassified grain by a state-owned company), the supply and demand for wheat below class 3 would be balanced, since perishable unclassified grain would be more easily utilized in the domestic market by the demand for fodder. All this would indirectly help the entire farming class, since they would profitably sell part of their grain to the national company, and market prices for the remaining extracurricular grain would rise (since the excess supply on the market would be sterilized by the emerging demand from the state company). All this would have a positive impact on the entire grain market.
Thirdly, having a solid feed fund on the balance sheet of the state-owned company, the state would allow in subsequent years to increase the volume of grain sales for export, which would also have a positive impact on the financial situation of farmers.
Also, these measures would stabilize the further development of the livestock industry, which is often plagued by sharp increases in feed prices.
“In the recent past, there were years when livestock farmers were forced to buy grain for $300-350 per ton as fodder. And now on the market they cannot sell 5th grade wheat for 50-60 thousand tenge. In less than a year, the price may change dramatically. There were many such examples. But, unfortunately, our memory is short. Having bought 5th grade for 80 thousand tenge today, crop farmers today will say thank you to the Government, and tomorrow livestock farmers will say thank you,” says Asylzhan Mamytbekov.
And all this without losses, and even with a certain profit for the state-owned company. After all, the idea of creating a fodder fund in our country has been floating around for a long time.
“This year is the most successful for such endeavors!” - the expert summed up.
In the comments under the publication, farmers reported that the year had indeed been very difficult. And a similar situation is observed not only with wheat.
“The sunflower also suffered due to climatic conditions, it even happened that the seeds in the sunflower began to germinate, this was the first time we had seen this, and the shedding is also an unpleasant thing, the consequences later are infections with diseases and pests. Corn is a completely different matter. It was also removed only in November-December, but someone still has it in the fields. In general, the year is very difficult. I’m generally silent on prices; prices for grain have fallen by 2 times compared to last year, and growing costs are also rising. It’s kind of a crisis year for farmers, unfortunately,” wrote Zarina Isaeva, manager of the KosAgroKommerz company.
“For some reason, in such a difficult year, the industry ministry allowed Kazakh alcohol factories to purchase wheat from the Russian Federation by rail. The market seems to be ours, but we work for others,” noted Sagyngazi Kurmanalin, Chairman of the Board of KT Elimay 2017 LLP.