Exporters of Kazakhstan cannot hand over loaded grain trucks, registered in February, for shipment to China. The national railway operator, KTZ, refuses to coordinate the plans, citing the fact that it has not received from the Chinese side a list of grain buyers licensed by the PRC authorities.
At the same time, counterparties of Kazakh export companies report that in fact, Chinese railway workers have already sent all the necessary data to their Kazakh colleagues. Traders are wondering: why disrupt this fact?
Few reasons can be found. The most obvious seems to be that KTZ does not want to tinker with grain, fearing a repeat of the difficulties with its acceptance in China. And instead of systematically working with the receiving party to debug interaction, they simply brush aside this direction.
Of course, another option is also possible, sadder for the industry - corruption. It is no secret that border crossings are now a bottleneck, with limited capacity for passing wagons due to underdeveloped infrastructure. And who will guarantee that those in charge, out of personal interest, give preference to the transportation of other types of cargo, ignoring grain?
Everyone has heard about the high-profile corruption cases in KTZ in recent years, and there is no guarantee that the situation there has changed for the better.
Meanwhile, KTZ continues to respond to exporters that there is no list from the PRC, and refuses to approve plans for grain carriers. This will lead to a decrease in prices for wheat within the country, since exports remain possible in only one direction - to Central Asia. And if there is only one buyer left on the market, he gets the opportunity to dictate his terms to the sellers. The country's farmers are losing money now, in preparation for the new agricultural season, without being able to fully prepare for field work.