Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan Kairat Torebayev said at a government meeting that the country’s export potential for grain crops is 12 million tons, including 7-7.5 million tons of wheat, 1.4 million tons of barley, 1 million tons of oilseeds and 300 thousand tons of corn. The main growth in exports was to China, where Kazakhstan supplied 538.8 thousand tons of wheat this year, which is almost 15 times more than last year.
“Kazakhstan will continue to supply the markets of Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, which is about 4.2 million tons. In general, grain exports to China amounted to 1.43 million tons in 2023, showing a 5.5-fold increase year-on-year,” said Kairat Torebayev.
Torebayev noted the possibility of increasing wheat exports to China and Asian countries to 1.6 million tons, focusing on resolving issues with border delays related to the requirements of Chinese authorities, as well as import quotas and licenses. He also sees prospects in the EU markets, such as Italy, Latvia and Spain, where demand for grain is increasing due to crop declines in other countries.
In addition, Kazakhstan considers Turkey and the Middle East as important markets with an export potential of almost 1 million tons of wheat.