Kazakhstan on joint grain hub opportunities

Kazakhstan is ready to launch a grain hub in partnership with the neighboring Russia, the country’s Agriculture Minister Assylzhan Mamytbekov told in the country’s Majilis (lower chamber).

“We have been talking of launching a grain hub as part of integration efforts. What is the current status of negotiations on a common grain market?”, Majilisman Viktor Kiyansky asked the Minister.

“When it comes to a grain hub, there have been multiple suggestions put forward by Russia on launching a joint grain holding company. We believe it feasible and effective, given that Russia-based grain companies incur substantial transport-related expenses when transporting grain from Krasnodar and Stavropol oblasts remote from major export routes. Kazakhstan could rely on swap operations: for instance, Moscow and St.Petersburg’s markets combined are equal to that of Kazakhstan’s entire market; so Kazakhstan could supply its grain to Moscow in exchange for an equivalent amount of Russian grain at the Black Sea. That would be a way to optimize transport costs. The Kazakh side has forwarded the suggestion to the Russian Agriculture Ministry and it is being considered”.