Kazakhstan grain harvest forecasted at 14 mln tons in 2012
2012-07-19 10:47:27
Kazakhstan's net grain harvest is projected at 14 million tonnes in the current year, Expert of the Agriculture Ministry's Investment Policy Analytical Centre Sagyntai Zhumazhanov told a news conference.
In his words, the grain yield will be two times smaller than in 2011, due to insufficient precipitation. "Harvest is forecasted at about 14 million tonnes," he said, adding, "In 2011, the republic's grain harvest exceeded 29 million tonnes, including 24 million tonnes of wheat."
"Exports potential of the Harvest-2011 was estimated by the Agriculture Ministry at 15 million tonnes," the expert said.
According to Director of the Ministry's Crop Farming and Plant-Growing Department Anna Buts, Kazakhstan exported 12.1 million tonnes of grain (including flour in grain equivalent) in the 2011-2012 marketing year.
"In the period from July 1, 2011 through to June 30, 2012, the republic exported 12.1 million tonnes of grain, which is 2.2 times more than in the previous agricultural year," she said.
The director of the department paid special attention to the change of the environment on the global grain market, which raises the demand of Kazakhstan's grain and the hike of their profitability on the sales markets, as well as lowers the necessity to continue the export subsidising of transport expenses.
"The Kazakhstani Agriculture Ministry will consider the possibility to abolish export subsidies from August 1, 2012," Buts said.
Experts forecast certain decline of the global wheat production in the countries of the European Union, Australia, Argentine, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan due to dry weather conditions.
As a result, experts point to the trends of further decline of grain prices, including at the Chicago Merchantile Exchange by 29 U.S. dollars to 298 U.S. dollars per tonne as of July 7.