Kazakhstan grain exports reached 10.6 million tons

In the current marketing year Kazakhstan has exported a record high 10.6 million tons of grain, including grain equivalent of flour, Newskaz.ru reports, citing the country’s Agriculture Ministry. “From September 2011 to May monthly exports have been exceeding 1 million tons. To fully unleash the export potential [estimated at 15 million tons], another 4.4 million tons of grain should be exported”, the press release reads. The new marketing year starts July 1. “The balance of the last year’s grain harvest stood at 9.3 million tons, which means another 4.5 million tons could be exported, with the rest of the grain rolling over into the next year’s reserves”, the Agriculture Ministry’s Executive Secretary Evgenyi Aman told a briefing May 29. He elaborated that in the current marketing year Kazakhstan has provided subsidies to export 2.5 million tons of grain towards China and the Russian Black Sea. The state plans to subsidize exports of another 3.5 million tons. According to the State Agency for Statistics, grain production in Kazakhstan in 2011 totaled 26.9 million tons (net weight), with exports potential standing at 15 million tons. Kazakhstan exported 5.9 million tons of grain in the 2010-2011 marketing year. This figure included grain equivalent of exported flour (2.5 million tons). The grain was traditionally exported to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. According to the Government’s web-site, grain harvest in 2010 totaled 12.2 million tons (net weight). Grain harvest of 2009 made up 22.7 million tons (bunker weight).