The first Kazakh-Chinese grain forum AGRICOM 2024 was held on June 5-6 in the Boro-Tala-Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is here that the Alashankou border station is located, which receives the main flow of grain cargo from Kazakhstan. Entrepreneurs and representatives of government agencies of the two countries discussed cooperation in the field of grain trade and logistics, agreed on joint projects for processing agricultural products, and also signed memorandums of cooperation.
The organizer of AGRICOM 2024 was the Grain Union of Kazakhstan. Following the forum, the leadership of the Union agreed with its colleagues from the Grain Union of China to sign a memorandum on the mutual promotion of each other’s interests.
The Chinese market is one of the most important destinations for the export of Kazakh grain with great shipment potential. However, infrastructure limitations prevent this potential from being fully realized. Therefore, the possibility of increasing the carriage capacity became one of the important topics of the forum. A representative of the Railway Transport Committee informed his Chinese colleagues about the work on the construction of second tracks on the Moyynty - Dostyk section. Construction is planned to be completed in 2025; the introduction of second tracks will increase the capacity of this section five times.
Also on the sidelines of the forum, B2B meetings of Kazakh and Chinese businessmen and negotiations between company leaders and government representatives (authorized ministries, parties, city halls) of both countries took place. In addition, as part of the forum, the Chinese side organized an exhibition with stands of local manufacturers.
At the end of the first day of the forum, two agreements were signed on the supply of flax and safflower, as well as two memorandums: Altyn Astyk Group on the implementation of an investment project with the Chinese company FAMSUN, the Grain Union of Kazakhstan with the FAMSUN company on the development of cooperation.
Grain terminal
On the second day of the forum, a trip to the grain terminal in the Alashankou bonded zone was organized for the participants. At the beginning of this year, new storage capacity for grains and oilseeds in the amount of 200 thousand tons was introduced at the terminal. Currently, the terminal's infrastructure allows it to receive two trains of hopper cars per day (84 cars). But the plans include the construction of new elevators, so in the future the capacity for simultaneous storage of agricultural cargo at the terminal will be 500 thousand tons.
In the bonded zone there are grain and oilseed processing enterprises, which also have their own storage facilities. Kazakh businessmen were also able to visit the largest enterprises in the city of Boro-Tala and talk with the heads of enterprises - potential buyers of their products.
Results of negotiations
The result of the international forum was the decision to create an interdepartmental working group of Kazakhstan and China, which will be able to quickly resolve emerging issues regarding the transportation of agricultural cargo.
In total, 47 Kazakh and 64 Chinese companies, as well as representatives of government agencies, took part in the Kazakh-Chinese forum.
The editors of ElDala.kz collected comments from forum participants.
Nurlan Ospanov, Chairman of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan:
- The main goal of this forum is to establish contacts with the leadership of the region, station and Alashankou bonded zone. We also wanted to show the regional administration that Kazakhstan, for its part, is ready to systematically work to increase trade turnover. It was important for us to synchronize watches. As a result, it was possible to agree with the Boro-Tal administration that this forum will be held annually both in China and in Kazakhstan. We also agreed to exchange relevant information affecting trade between Kazakhstan and China.
Sanzhar Yelyubaev, president of Astyk Trans company:
- This is a landmark event for Kazakhstan. The first Kazakh-Chinese grain forum fits organically into the strategy of relations between our states and contributes to the implementation of instructions from the heads of state to develop trade relations and increase trade turnover. Each forum participant had specific proposals and a desire to resolve all issues. The primary task with which we came to the forum was to maintain relationships with counterparties on the Chinese side. Our goal is also to find out what volumes of supplies from Kazakhstan China is ready to accept, and what is the export potential.
Sergey Potapov, General Director of Viterra Kazakhstan:
- With the introduction of new capacities at the terminal in Alashankou, we have the opportunity to trade grain in larger volumes. We really need China to potentially take all our exports. Such a grain forum has practical benefits for all participants. First of all, we established a dialogue. And the intention to continue to meet and further discuss joint development meets the interests of all parties.
Gulmira Abisheva, General Director of Baltic Control Kazakhstan:
- Never before have so many representatives of Chinese government agencies taken part in any of our joint forums. There were representatives of the mayor's office, the Urumqi Railway, the leaders of the Chinese Grain Union, etc. Following the negotiations, they wrote down all our questions and promised to prepare an agreement. Chinese government agencies entered into a dialogue with us, and this is important, since previously they were closed. Until now, it has been difficult to negotiate, especially on controversial issues. And even KTZ was not allowed into the bonded zone before.
Evgeny Karabanov, official representative of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan
- The most important decision at the forum was the creation of a joint working group. Its work will help solve problems at the border, establish logistics and increase the volume of grain shipped to China. We will be able to bring any issues to the working group for discussion and resolve them more quickly. The issue of creating a special commission with China has been raised for a long time. At first we managed to convince the Kazakh government of its importance. Now the issue has been resolved with China.
Asel Syzdykova, Operations Manager, SGS KAZAKHSTAN Ltd:
- We came to talk with colleagues – Kazakh and Chinese. I consider the decision to create a working group to be the most important one at this forum. This is important for both traders and surveyors. Everyone wants to increase the pace and volume of shipments. For us, China today is the most promising direction, and I hope that thanks to the working group, all issues will be resolved. Special thanks for the high organization. On the field trips, it was interesting to see the capacity of the Chinese terminal - how much they can receive and store. We plan to be present in bonded areas to protect our clients. That is, we want our inspectors to be on the ground, since we already have representative offices in China. Overall, participation in this forum can bring great benefits.