Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Ministry has no plans to ban grain exports

Kazakhstan’s Agriculture Minister Assylzhan Mamytbekov stated that Kazakhstan had no plans to ban exports of food, the Ministry’s web-site reads. “We (…) should look for ways not to ban exports, even in tough years. Last year showed that Kazakhstan can do that. With our borders open, we kept domestic prices at a certain level and kept on exporting”, the Minister said. Exports enable to attract new investments and maintain long-term contracts with partner countries. According to the Ministry’s estimates, Kazakhstan can export 5.5. million tons of grain in the 2010-2011 marketing year. However, earlier estimates stood at 7 million tons. 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).