The wheat harvest in Kazakhstan this year is forecast to be very high, which will acutely raise the issue of the rhythm of grain shipments for export. The ability of traders to load grain from elevators and send it to buyers abroad without unnecessary delays will depend on the precise operation of all links in the logistics chain. If the system fails, this will immediately have a negative impact on domestic prices: excess supply on the domestic market will lead to a loss of profitability for farmers.
How ready are Kazakhstan's railway workers for the new harvest? Nurzhan Kelbuganov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Railway and Water Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Zhandos Kuanyshev, Vice President of Astyk Trans, a system forwarder of grain cars in Kazakhstan, helped ElDala.kz figure this out.
Export potential of the new season
According to the International Grains Council, the wheat harvest in Kazakhstan this season may exceed 16 million tons, which, together with carryover balances, will allow us to talk about an export potential of over 10 million tons. On the one hand, the country's railway infrastructure allows for the shipment of 1 million tons to 1.2 million tons of grain cargo per month, which seems sufficient to export the harvest. But the fact is that the demand for shipments is not uniform throughout the year. The peak demand of traders occurs in the fall, when requests (based on the experience of past years) can exceed the capacity of the railway several times.
And most importantly, the wheat harvest this season may not be 16 million tons, but 20 million and even higher, as experts cautiously warn.
How to properly plan work with traders in this situation so as not to allow requests for shipment to exceed the actual capacity of the railway infrastructure? We asked Nurzhan Kelbuganov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Railway and Water Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to answer this question.
Infrastructure bottlenecks
- Of course, there are bottlenecks in the railway infrastructure of Kazakhstan, - said Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - And work on expanding them is underway.
First of all, due to the increase in export and transit volumes, there is a need to expand throughput capacity in the direction of China. Currently, there are two railway junctions between Kazakhstan and China: Dostyk-Alashankou and Altynkol-Khorgos. They are operating at their limit, their maximum annual throughput capacity is about 28 million tons of all types of cargo. Last year, exactly 28.3 million tons passed through them. Various measures are currently being taken to increase throughput capacity. In particular, the construction of second tracks on the Dostyk-Moiynty section, which will provide a fivefold increase in throughput capacity on this section. This will be by the end of 2025. By the end of this year, the Aktogay-Dostyk section will be partially launched.
It is also planned to build a third railway crossing between Kazakhstan and China, which will make it possible to increase cargo turnover between Kazakhstan and China by another 20 million tons per year.
The Chinese side is also working to expand capacity. There, the construction of second tracks on the approach to Alashankou, about 200 km, has been completed. On the border itself, on the Dostyk-Alashankou section, the construction of second tracks is also planned.
In addition, various terminals are being built at border stations, which will increase the capacity for receiving and transshipping cargo.
Grain restrictions
- Nevertheless, China remains limited in receiving grain cargo from Kazakhstan, - said Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - About five years ago, we asked China to increase its infrastructure capacity for receiving our grain. And they kept their word, building a good terminal at the Alashankou station, organizing a bonded zone there. Thanks to this, last year we transported 2.2 million tons of grain cargo there. This was our record. We are now limited to these figures - 150-200 thousand tons of grain per month. This is one or two routes per day. The restriction comes from the receiving infrastructure. There is also a delay from the government agencies of the PRC.
Kazakhstan is ready to deliver more trains in this direction.
Saryagash awaits volumes
As for Uzbekistan, the transition to the Saryagash station, several years ago this direction was also a bottleneck, and at peak times up to 200 trains with grain cargo in the direction of Central Asia stood abandoned there.
- Meetings were held to discuss proposals to improve infrastructure capabilities, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - As a result, both the Uzbek and Kazakh sides implemented their plans. In particular, additional tracks were built on the Uzbekistan side in the area where customs and border inspections of cargo take place. There were four tracks, now there are six. On the Kazakhstan side, a bypass track of the inspection and screening complex was built. This allows us to simultaneously receive and send trains. In total, these measures allowed us to increase throughput capacity by 20 percent: if before we handed over a maximum of 28-30 trains per day, today we can hand over 38-40 trains. The Uzbek side says it is ready to accept up to 45 trains.
But, unfortunately, there have been no such volumes yet, including due to a decrease in the transit of container trains from the Far East through the territory of Kazakhstan to UzbekAvtoProm. Oil transit from Russia and our exports in the form of coal have also fallen. If last year Kazakhstan sent 2.3 million tons of coal to Uzbekistan, then in the first seven months of this year - only 750 thousand tons.
- As a result, an opportunity is now opening up in Saryagash in favor of grain producers, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - Now we deliver 18-20 trains per day to Uzbekistan, and we can - up to 40. We can double the transportation with an increase in supplies from shippers. If earlier the annual volume of grain supplies to Uzbekistan was 3.5 million tons, now the railway is ready to transport this volume in three to four months. Such opportunities have appeared.
Accordingly, we have always had 1 million tons of grain in the direction of Tajikistan, about 500 thousand tons - to Afghanistan. We also confirm these volumes. In total, the Saryagash junction is ready to handle 5 million tons of grain.
Alternative export directions
- The Lugovaya station junction to Kyrgyzstan is also operating, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - Their historical annual grain demand was 500 thousand tons. Of these, in recent years, they received 50 thousand tons from Kazakhstan, and 450 thousand tons from Russia. This year, we revised and equated Kazakhstan's railway tariffs to Russian ones, and our grain became competitive in Kyrgyzstan.
Historically, we could also send 1.5 million tons of grain through our ports on the Caspian - both wheat and barley. These capacities have not only been preserved, but have also grown - to 3.8 million tons per year due to the introduction of new grain terminals. But, unfortunately, there is no demand for grain in this direction yet. The problem with payment from Iran is due to sanctions. There is demand, the price is acceptable, but buyers cannot make payments.
Subsidies for transportation to Europe
Certain prospects for Kazakhstani grain cargo are opening up on the European market due to the fact that the EU has introduced protective duties on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. For example, on wheat - 95 euros per ton. In this regard, deliveries of certain types of agricultural products from Kazakhstan to Europe are possible. True, the ports on the Black Sea and the Baltic are far from Kazakhstan, and for the delivery of goods there, subsidies for transportation costs from the state are required.
- The Ministry supports such plans, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - These issues have been submitted to KazTrade for consideration.
The locomotive fleet is being updated
In addition to the readiness of the railway network, the condition of the rolling stock - locomotives and cars - is also important. Some work is being done here, too.
- Indeed, a year and a half ago there were problems with locomotive traction on the railway, - Nurzhan Kelbuganov commented on the situation. - In order to solve the problem, a fleet update schedule was drawn up for several years. As part of this, 118 units were purchased last year, and another 185 locomotives are being purchased this year, of which 130 have already been put on the road. If at the beginning of this year, the wear and tear of our locomotives was 61%, then by the end of 2024 it will fall to 51%. Next year, 2025, another 266 locomotives will be purchased. Due to this, train delays due to a shortage of locomotives will be eliminated. The situation is such that there is an excess of locomotive stock on the network, which is idle. On average, up to 50 locomotives are idle across the country per day. Of course, this is a temporary phenomenon, until active transportation of grain and other goods begins. In particular, coal. In October-November, the load on the railway network will reach peak values, and by that time the locomotive stock will be fully utilized. So we will not have problems with locomotive traction.
In addition, I would like to emphasize that out of 185 locomotives planned for acquisition this year, 20 are shunting locomotives. In the last 20 years, there have been practically no purchases of shunting locomotives in Kazakhstan. Two shunting locomotives arrived 10 years ago, and that's all. The role of shunting locomotives is very important - this is work at stations, servicing access roads and direct interaction with shippers. Also, 80 more shunting locomotives will be purchased next year. Thanks to this, the problem of timely delivery, removal of cars, and processing of access roads will be solved.
In addition, I will note that the delivery and removal of cars themselves are on the market, and private locomotive traction operators are also updating their rolling stock. Taking this into account, we should see an improvement in the situation already this season. That is, if earlier a car could stand idle for up to 24 hours waiting to be delivered to an access road, then this year we expect to meet the standards, depending on the station - that is, 6 to 12 hours, cars will be delivered and removed from access roads.
Positive role of routing
Routing of transportation also played a positive role, which accelerated the delivery of goods by eliminating the processing of trains en route. The grain route from Kostanay to Saryagash station (the train has 42 cars loaded exclusively with grain) takes three, maximum four days. All market participants - shippers, elevators, and car owners - were able to adapt to the routing and appreciate its benefits. Every month, grain producers were able to issue 70-90 block trains to the railway network. The practice of routing will be continued in the new season.
- True, there is a limitation on the acceptance of block trains from Uzbekistan, - added Nurzhan Kelbuganov. There are 16 unloading stations in Uzbekistan, which unload one grain train in two or three days. That is, they process 15-20 cars per day.
Everyone is slowed down by elevators
True, export volumes depend not only on the capabilities of the railway, but also elevators. And they are limited by the volume of loading - about 1-1.2 million tons of grain per month. And no matter how the railway expands bottlenecks, export volumes will be limited until the elevators undergo the corresponding modernization. This is already a matter of business.
- In our country, there are about 190 elevators in grain-growing regions, their total loading capacity is 600 cars per day, - explained Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - This is 40 thousand tons per day, or 1-1.2 million tons per month. The historical record for loading at elevators in our country is 1 million 250 thousand tons in March 2022.
It turns out that if Kazakhstan's elevators load 1-1.2 million tons of grain per day, of which 200 thousand tons are intra-republican transportation, then the country's export capacity is no more than 9 million tons per year. The maximum export by rail was reached in 2018 - 8.8 million tons.
It would seem that the capacity is sufficient, taking into account the forecast harvest. But the difficulty lies in the unevenness of shipments throughout the year. The greatest demand for transportation occurs in the last months of the year, and then there is a sharp decline in demand for the services of railway workers.
Zhandos Kuanyshev, Vice President of Astyk Trans, a system forwarder of grain cars in Kazakhstan, spoke about this.
- The seasonality of grain cargo transportation in Kazakhstan is very pronounced, - Zhandos Kuanyshev noted. - Take the current year: since February, we have had almost 4 thousand cars standing idle, since there was no cargo presented for transportation. Astyk trans is incurring colossal losses because of this. And now, in the fourth quarter of the year, they will want to transport 3-4 million tons per month. We know this from the experience of previous years. But, as we have just heard, this is impossible. Neither the railway infrastructure of Kazakhstan and the recipient countries, nor the elevators of Kazakhstan will cope. Plus the irregular work of our respected shippers: unfortunately, there are companies on the market that do not provide a systematic approach to work.
The wagon fleet has been expanded by 16%
Another issue that directly affects export opportunities is the availability of grain wagons in Kazakhstan. According to Zhandos Kuanyshev, the number of hopper grain wagons in the country has increased by 16% compared to 2022.
In total, today in Kazakhstan there are 12 thousand grain wagons of various local owners and another 1,800 wagons of railway administrations of the CIS countries. With an average wagon turnover of 25 days, the existing fleet provides 16,836 wagon-shipments per month. With an average load per wagon of 68 tons, the existing fleet allows loading 1 million 150 thousand tons per month. That is, just under the capabilities of the country's railway infrastructure.
- As for Astyk Trans's own fleet, all the cars operate in Kazakhstan, never leave the country, this is about 6 thousand cars, - noted Zhandos Kuanyshev. - During the season, about 500 more grain carriers will be attracted. All of them will be involved in the transportation of Kazakhstani grain. Yes, last year, at the request of our millers, we went to Russia to load wheat for the needs of our mills. But this was work for the needs of our country.
If necessary, a fleet of cars from the Russian Federation will be attracted, where a decrease in the grain harvest is expected.
In addition, some types of grain cargo in recent years have been actively transported by covered cars, and about 1 million tons per year are exported in containers. In general, the fleet of cars of all types suitable for the transportation of grain cargo is about 17 thousand units. With a car turnover of 25 days, this is enough to load 1.4 million tons per month.
- If there were sales markets, and there is something to transport the goods with, - noted Zhandos Kuanyshev. - And here, of course, we must understand that our elevators will not be able to load more than 1.2 million tons of grain per month. This is the entire volume - both for the domestic market and for export. There are enough cars, enough locomotives, the infrastructure is ready - but the loading issue needs to be resolved. There is practically no 24-hour work schedule anywhere, as well as work on weekends. This is due to the fact that there is a shortage of personnel. And people ask for double pay for work at night and on Saturday-Sunday. Elevators do not want to agree to this.
Preparations for the busy loading season are actively underway. In particular, an operational headquarters for grain transportation has been created at the level of Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin. There are similar headquarters in the Ministry of Transport and KTZ. Their purpose is to analyze the causes of delays and propose solutions.
Will Kazakhstan export a record harvest?
The wheat harvest in Kazakhstan this year is predicted to be very high, which will acutely raise the issue of the rhythm of grain shipments for export. The ability of traders to load grain from elevators and send it to buyers abroad without unnecessary delays will depend on the precise operation of all links in the logistics chain. If the system fails, this will immediately negatively affect domestic prices: excess supply on the domestic market will lead to a loss of profitability for farmers.
How ready are Kazakhstan's railway workers for the new harvest? ElDala.kz portal was helped to understand this by Nurzhan Kelbuganov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Railway and Water Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Zhandos Kuanyshev, Vice President of Astyk Trans, a system forwarder of grain cars in Kazakhstan.
Export potential of the new season
According to the International Grains Council, the wheat harvest in Kazakhstan this season may exceed 16 million tons, which, together with carryover balances, will allow us to talk about an export potential of over 10 million tons. On the one hand, the country's railway infrastructure allows for the shipment of 1 million tons to 1.2 million tons of grain cargo per month, which seems sufficient to export the harvest. But the fact is that the demand for shipments is not uniform throughout the year. The peak demand of traders occurs in the fall, when requests (based on the experience of past years) can exceed the capacity of the railway several times.
And most importantly, the wheat harvest this season may not be 16 million tons, but 20 million and even higher, as experts cautiously warn.
How to properly plan work with traders in this situation so as not to allow requests for shipment to exceed the actual capacity of the railway infrastructure? We asked Nurzhan Kelbuganov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Railway and Water Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to answer this question.
Infrastructure bottlenecks
- Of course, there are bottlenecks in the railway infrastructure of Kazakhstan, - said Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - And work on expanding them is underway.
First of all, due to the increase in export and transit volumes, there is a need to expand throughput capacity in the direction of China. Currently, there are two railway junctions between Kazakhstan and China: Dostyk-Alashankou and Altynkol-Khorgos. They are operating at their limit, their maximum annual throughput capacity is about 28 million tons of all types of cargo. Last year, exactly 28.3 million tons passed through them. Various measures are currently being taken to increase throughput capacity. In particular, the construction of second tracks on the Dostyk-Moiynty section, which will provide a fivefold increase in throughput capacity on this section. This will be by the end of 2025. By the end of this year, the Aktogay-Dostyk section will be partially launched.
It is also planned to build a third railway crossing between Kazakhstan and China, which will make it possible to increase cargo turnover between Kazakhstan and China by another 20 million tons per year.
The Chinese side is also working to expand the throughput capacity. There, the construction of second tracks on the approach to Alashankou, about 200 km, has been completed. On the border itself, on the Dostyk-Alashankou section, the construction of second tracks is also planned.
In addition, various terminals are being built at border stations, which will increase the capacity for receiving and transshipping cargo.
Grain restrictions
- Nevertheless, China remains limited in receiving grain cargo from Kazakhstan, - said Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - About five years ago, we asked China to increase its infrastructure capacity for receiving our grain. And they kept their word, having built a good terminal at the Alashankou station, and organized a bonded zone there. Thanks to this, last year we transported 2.2 million tons of grain cargo there. This was our record. We are now limited to these figures - 150-200 thousand tons of grain per month. This is one or two routes per day. The limitation comes from the receiving infrastructure. There is also a delay from the government agencies of the PRC.
Kazakhstan is ready to deliver more trains in this direction.
Saryagash awaits volumes
As for Uzbekistan, the transition at Saryagash station, several years ago this direction was also a bottleneck, and at peak times up to 200 trains with grain cargo in the direction of Central Asia were abandoned there.
- Meetings were held to discuss proposals to improve infrastructure capabilities, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - As a result, both the Uzbek side and the Kazakh side implemented their plans. In particular, additional tracks were built on the Uzbekistan side in the area where customs and border inspections of cargo take place. There were four tracks, now there are six. On the Kazakhstan side, a bypass track of the inspection and screening complex was built. This allows us to simultaneously receive and send trains now. In total, these measures allowed us to increase the throughput capacity by 20 percent: if before we delivered a maximum of 28-30 trains per day, today we have the ability to deliver 38-40 trains. The Uzbek side says that it is ready to accept up to 45 trains.
But, unfortunately, such volumes have not yet been reached, including due to the decrease in the transit of container trains from the Far East through the territory of Kazakhstan to UzbekAvtoProm. Oil transit from Russia and our export in the form of coal have also fallen. If last year Kazakhstan sent 2.3 million tons of coal to Uzbekistan, then in the seven months of this year - only 750 thousand tons.
- As a result, an opportunity is now opening up in Saryagash in favor of grain producers, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - Now we deliver 18-20 trains per day to Uzbekistan, and we can - up to 40. We can double the transportation with an increase in supplies from shippers. If earlier the annual volume of grain cargo deliveries to Uzbekistan was 3.5 million tons, now the railway is ready to transport this volume in three to four months. Such opportunities have appeared.
Accordingly, we have always had 1 million tons of grain in the direction of Tajikistan, about 500 thousand tons - to Afghanistan. We also confirm these volumes. In total, the Saryagash junction is ready to handle 5 million tons of grain.
Alternative export directions
- The junction of the Lugovaya station to Kyrgyzstan is also operating, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - Their historical annual need for grain was 500 thousand tons. Of these, in recent years they have received 50 thousand tons from Kazakhstan, from Russia - 450 thousand tons. This year, Kazakhstani railway tariffs were revised and equated to Russian ones, and our grain became competitive in Kyrgyzstan.
Historically, we could also ship 1.5 million tons of grain through our Caspian ports - both wheat and barley. These capacities have not only been maintained, but have also grown - to 3.8 million tons per year due to the introduction of new grain terminals. But, unfortunately, there is no demand for grain in this direction yet. The problem with payment from Iran is due to sanctions. There is demand, the price is acceptable - but buyers cannot make payments.
Subsidies for transportation to Europe
Certain prospects for Kazakhstani grain cargo are opening up on the European market due to the fact that the EU has introduced protective duties on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus. For example, on wheat - 95 euros per ton. In this regard, deliveries of certain types of agricultural products from Kazakhstan to Europe are possible. However, the ports on the Black Sea and the Baltic are far from Kazakhstan, and subsidies for transportation costs from the state are necessary to deliver cargo there.
- The Ministry supports such plans, - noted Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - These issues have been submitted to KazTrade for consideration.
The locomotive fleet is being updated
In addition to the readiness of the railway network, the condition of the rolling stock - locomotives and cars - is also important. Some work is being done here, too.
- Indeed, a year and a half ago there were problems with locomotive traction on the railway, - Nurzhan Kelbuganov commented on the situation. - In order to solve the problem, a fleet update schedule was drawn up for several years. As part of this, 118 units were purchased last year, and another 185 locomotives are being purchased this year, of which 130 have already been put on the road. If at the beginning of this year, the wear and tear of our locomotives was 61%, then by the end of 2024 it will fall to 51%. Next year, 2025, another 266 locomotives will be purchased. Due to this, train delays due to a shortage of locomotives will be eliminated. The situation is such that there is an excess of locomotive stock on the network, which is idle. On average, up to 50 locomotives are idle across the country per day. Of course, this is a temporary phenomenon, until active transportation of grain and other goods begins. In particular, coal. In October-November, the load on the railway network will reach peak values, and by that time the locomotive stock will be fully utilized. So we will not have problems with locomotive traction.
In addition, I would like to emphasize that out of 185 locomotives planned for acquisition this year, 20 are shunting locomotives. In the last 20 years, there have been practically no purchases of shunting locomotives in Kazakhstan. Two shunting locomotives arrived 10 years ago, and that's all. The role of shunting locomotives is very important - this is work at stations, servicing access roads and direct interaction with shippers. Also, 80 more shunting locomotives will be purchased next year. Thanks to this, the problem of timely delivery, removal of cars, and processing of access roads will be solved.
In addition, I will note that the delivery and removal of cars themselves are on the market, and private locomotive traction operators are also updating their rolling stock. Taking this into account, we should see an improvement in the situation already this season. That is, if earlier a car could stand idle for up to 24 hours waiting to be delivered to an access road, then this year we expect to meet the standards, depending on the station - that is, 6 to 12 hours, cars will be delivered and removed from access roads.
Positive role of routing
Routing of transportation also played a positive role, which accelerated the delivery of goods by eliminating the processing of trains en route. The grain route from Kostanay to Saryagash station (the train has 42 cars loaded exclusively with grain) takes three, maximum four days. All market participants - shippers, elevators, and car owners - were able to adapt to the routing and appreciate its benefits. Every month, grain producers were able to issue 70-90 block trains to the railway network. The practice of routing will be continued in the new season.
- True, there is a limitation on the acceptance of block trains from Uzbekistan, - added Nurzhan Kelbuganov. There are 16 unloading stations in Uzbekistan, which unload one grain train in two or three days. That is, they process 15-20 cars per day.
Everyone is slowed down by elevators
True, export volumes depend not only on the capabilities of the railway, but also elevators. And they are limited by the volume of loading - about 1-1.2 million tons of grain per month. And no matter how the railway expands bottlenecks, export volumes will be limited until the elevators undergo the corresponding modernization. This is already a matter of business.
- In our country, there are about 190 elevators in grain-growing regions, their total loading capacity is 600 cars per day, - explained Nurzhan Kelbuganov. - This is 40 thousand tons per day, or 1-1.2 million tons per month. The historical record for loading at elevators in our country is 1 million 250 thousand tons in March 2022.
It turns out that if Kazakhstan's elevators load 1-1.2 million tons of grain per day, of which 200 thousand tons are intra-republican transportation, then the country's export capacity is no more than 9 million tons per year. The maximum export by rail was reached in 2018 - 8.8 million tons.
It would seem that the capacity is sufficient, taking into account the forecast harvest. But the difficulty lies in the unevenness of shipments throughout the year. The greatest demand for transportation occurs in the last months of the year, and then there is a sharp decline in demand for the services of railway workers.
Zhandos Kuanyshev, Vice President of Astyk Trans, a system forwarder of grain cars in Kazakhstan, spoke about this.
- The seasonality of grain cargo transportation in Kazakhstan is very pronounced, - Zhandos Kuanyshev noted. - Take the current year: since February, we have had almost 4 thousand cars standing idle, since there was no cargo presented for transportation. Astyk trans is incurring colossal losses because of this. And now, in the fourth quarter of the year, they will want to transport 3-4 million tons per month. We know this from the experience of previous years. But, as we have just heard, this is impossible. Neither the railway infrastructure of Kazakhstan and the recipient countries, nor the elevators of Kazakhstan will cope. Plus the irregular work of our respected shippers: unfortunately, there are companies on the market that do not provide a systematic approach to work.
The wagon fleet has been expanded by 16%
Another issue that directly affects export opportunities is the availability of grain wagons in Kazakhstan. According to Zhandos Kuanyshev, the number of hopper grain wagons in the country has increased by 16% compared to 2022.
In total, today in Kazakhstan there are 12 thousand grain wagons of various local owners and another 1,800 wagons of railway administrations of the CIS countries. With an average wagon turnover of 25 days, the existing fleet provides 16,836 wagon-shipments per month. With an average load per wagon of 68 tons, the existing fleet allows loading 1 million 150 thousand tons per month. That is, just under the capabilities of the country's railway infrastructure.
- As for Astyk Trans's own fleet, all the cars operate in Kazakhstan, never leave the country, this is about 6 thousand cars, - noted Zhandos Kuanyshev. - During the season, about 500 more grain carriers will be attracted. All of them will be involved in the transportation of Kazakhstani grain. Yes, last year, at the request of our millers, we went to Russia to load wheat for the needs of our mills. But this was work for the needs of our country.
If necessary, a fleet of cars from the Russian Federation will be attracted, where a decrease in the grain harvest is expected.
In addition, some types of grain cargo in recent years have been actively transported by covered cars, and about 1 million tons per year are exported in containers. In general, the fleet of cars of all types suitable for the transportation of grain cargo is about 17 thousand units. With a car turnover of 25 days, this is enough to load 1.4 million tons per month.
- If there were sales markets, and there is something to transport the goods with, - noted Zhandos Kuanyshev. - And here, of course, we must understand that our elevators will not be able to load more than 1.2 million tons of grain per month. This is the entire volume - both for the domestic market and for export. There are enough cars, enough locomotives, the infrastructure is ready - but the issue of loading requires a solution. There is practically no 24-hour work schedule anywhere, as well as work on weekends. This is due to the fact that there is a shortage of personnel. And people ask for double pay for work at night and on Saturday and Sunday. The elevators do not want to agree to this.
Preparations for the busy loading season are underway. In particular, an operational headquarters for grain transportation has been created at the level of Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin. There are similar headquarters in the Ministry of Transport and KTZ. Their purpose is to analyze the causes of delays and propose solutions.