Kazakhstan Bans Wheat Import to Protect Domestic Market

The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture announced on August 20 a ban on importing wheat to Kazakhstan. This applies to all countries, including fellow members of the Eurasian Economic Union (Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia).

The ban applies from August 21 to December 31, 2024, and does not apply to the transit of wheat through Kazakhstan’s territory.

The ministry explained that the move was necessary to protect the domestic market. In the first half of this year, Kazakhstan imported 1.3 million tons of wheat, which is almost equal to the import volume for the entire 2023. The country’s domestic market has sufficient wheat left over from last year’s harvest.

As of 1 July 2024, Kazakhstan had wheat reserves of 5.1 million tons, including 4 million tons for food.

Due to favorable weather conditions during this year’s growing season, the ministry expects a good grain harvest, which would create an excess supply on the domestic grain market, considering the carryover stocks.

Kazakhstan’s total area under grain crops this year is 16.7 million hectares. Regarding wheat production, Kazakhstan is in 14th place in the world, with a production volume of more than 12 million tons per year.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Kazakhstan’s wheat production in 2023 stood at 12.1 million tons. Wheat exports in the 2023/24 marketing year (July/June) were estimated at 9 million tons.

Tags: Kazakhstan, wheat, Belarus, imports, ban, Armenia, Eurasian Economic Union, reserves, Кыргызстан, Russia