Kazakstan to retain global leadership in flour export

Kazakhstan plans to export 2-2.5 million tons of flour this year, Kazakhstan Agriculture Minister Assylzhan Mamytbekov said during the recent online-conference at Tengrinews.kz. Answering a questions about Kazakhstan’s possible loss of leadership in the global flour trade, the Minister said that Kazakhstan brought flour exports to 2.2 million tons in 2012, regaining the leading position in the world. But earlier Tengrinews.kz English reported that Kazakhstan had cut its wheat flour export expectations and its leadership at the market could be challenged by its closest rival this season. “As a results of the drought in 2010, Kazakhstan supplied 1.9 million tons of flour to foreign markets in 2011, which is 17.3 percent less compared to the previous year (2.3 million tons). Meanwhile, Turkey exported 2.0 million tons of flour and took the leading positions. Lowering of the global wheat prices was one of the main reasons behind the decrease of the flour export in 2011. As of the end of 2012 Kazakhstan flour export stood at 2.2 million tons, and it retook the leading position again,” Mamytbekov said. The Minister noted that the export dynamics is affected by global grain prices, plus fluctuations of the demand and own flour production development in the countries that are traditional importing flour from Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan is one of the main importers of Kazakhstan flour. Kazakhstan’s position as the flour export leader are challenged by Turkey in the 2012-2013 season. Turkey was in the second place last season.