The Government of Kazakhstan held a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, at which they discussed the readiness of elevators to receive the new harvest, export opportunities and probable risks during harvesting. Representatives of the Grain Union and the Union of Field Growers took part in the meeting.
Currently, the total volume of grain storage tanks in Kazakhstan is about 30 million tons, of which 13.4 million tons belong to 191 licensed grain receiving enterprises, and 16.6 million tons belong to the grain storage facilities of agricultural producers. These capacities are sufficient to store the average annual harvest volume and carry-over grain reserves.
According to data as of July 1 of this year, grain reserves in Kazakhstan amount to 6.1 million tons, of which 4.5 million tons are food, 1.4 million are feed. Vice Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov noted that favorable weather conditions and the current state of crops make it possible to predict harvest volumes above average.
“Given the presence of such large carryover balances in granaries, akimats now need to work out all organizational issues regarding the acceptance of grain from the new harvest and drying capacities so that the grain, in case of bad weather, does not remain wet in the fields,” the vice minister emphasized.
At the meeting, options for the speedy sale of remaining grain were discussed, one of which was the acceleration of shipment for export. In 2023, the volume of grain supplies by rail from Kazakhstan to China reached a record 2.2 million tons. This became possible thanks to the resumption of grain shipments by grain carriers from March 2023 through the joint efforts of the government, KTZ and industry associations.
Managing Director of NC KTZ JSC Bauyrzhan Urynbasarov presented plans for grain transportation to China for 2024 and shipment results for the first half of the year. 757 thousand tons of grain have already been sent by rail, the plan for the second half of the year is 1.25 million tons. NC KTZ JSC is ready to send more than 2 million tons of grain for export to China with an even distribution of trains among senders. Serik Zhumangarin also proposed discussing with the Chinese side the possibility of sending grain by road.
At the meeting, the executive director of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, Muratbek Isabaev, voiced a proposal to provide farmers with cheaper fuel for dryers in case of wet weather during harvesting.
Serik Zhumangarin instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to consider the possibility of allocating preferential funds to farmers for the purchase of grain drying equipment, as well as, together with regional akimats, to take all necessary measures for timely preparation for the harvest season.