Potato prices soar in Kazakhstan: What the government is saying

Tengrinews.kz - Against the backdrop of a sharp jump in potato prices in several regions of Kazakhstan, the government has decided to limit vegetable exports to third countries for six months.

According to the government press service, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, the ministries of agriculture, trade, and integration are constantly monitoring the situation developing in the country's potato market.

"Due to increased demand from neighboring countries, especially Uzbekistan, and high export prices this year, potato exports have increased by 1.5 times, from 411 thousand tons to 605 thousand tons. The rush demand has affected the domestic market. Over the past week, a sharp increase in prices has been recorded among export-oriented producers (from 170 to 270 tenge)," the government reported.

In order to stabilize potato prices on the domestic market, a decision was made at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission on Trade Activities, which was held on January 18, to limit the export of potatoes to third countries for a period of 6 months.

"This measure does not apply to the EAEU countries, but exports in this direction will be monitored. At the same time, given the current situation, the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for export was completely suspended on January 16," the government explained.

It is noted that the measures taken are aimed at ensuring the stability of potato prices, preventing unjustified price increases, and prohibiting speculative actions by market participants.

In addition, the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Trade and Integration, together with the territorial divisions of the antimonopoly authority, promise to conduct enhanced monitoring of the situation and, in the event of a violation of the current legislation on trade activities, they will take immediate measures to influence market participants.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the current reserves are sufficient to fully cover domestic demand until the early harvest of 2025. The reserves, as of January 19, amount to over 850 thousand tons, excluding reserves in retail chains (600 thousand tons in the potato growers' association, 68 thousand tons in stabilization funds, and over 200 thousand tons in cellars in private households and small farms).

It should be noted that the gross potato harvest in 2024 amounted to 2.9 million tons (including the early harvest - 300 thousand tons). Imports for 2024 amounted to 56 thousand tons. The volume of potatoes for distribution to the market from August 2024 is 2.6 million tons, with the total population needing 1.5 million tons (including the urban population of 954 thousand tons) before the early harvest (January-April). From August to December 2024, 844 thousand tons were consumed, and 620 thousand tons were exported (from January to December 2024). The projected consumption volume for 2025 (January-April) is 675 thousand tons.

Earlier, the National Bank of Kazakhstan announced signs of economic overheating.