Miller Magazine Issue: 118 October 2019

70 INTERVIEW MILLER / OCTOBER 2019 is more than 2.3 times. Thus, Kazakhstan has become a major producer and exporter of flax seeds. The volume of production and export of Kazakh flax in the season 2018/19 amounted to 25% and 35% of the volume of global production and export, respectively. The share of Kazakh lentils in global production was 2.2%. With this indicator, Kazakhstan entered the 10 largest lentil producers in the world. At the same time, lentils in Kazakhstan are still considered as a crop that participates in crop rotation, and not as one of the main export-oriented crops. Therefore, in the presence of steady demand and fair prices, Kazakh producers can significantly increase the production and export of len- tils, including to Turkey. In general, it is important to note that Kazakhstan carries out a lot of work to produce crops that are in demand on global markets, as well as to search and optimize their delivery routes to consumers. Kazakhstan is one of the most important grain pro- ducers and exporters in the world. It has been trying to increase its wheat export and find new markets. And China is a huge potential market for Kazakh produc- ers. Grain supplies from Kazakhstan to China have increased in the last three years. How will the Ka- zakh-China grain trade develop? What are your expec- tations? Where will be other opportunities and regions for Kazakh exports? Indeed, the Chinese market is very attractive to us. Be- cause it is a huge solvent market and relatively low trans- portation costs associated with close logistics. The volume of wheat supplied to China today is ap- proximately 5.5% of the total export of Kazakhstan wheat. According to our estimates, over the next 5 years, the share of wheat exports to China will be 15-20% of the total export of Kazakhstan wheat. The main markets for our wheat are Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghan- istan, as well as the border regions of Russia. For our wheat with high protein content, we see such potential markets as Russia, Turkey, China, European countries. Logistics problems are limiting the Kazakh grain trade. Kazakhstan has trouble reaching internation- al markets due to the lack of direct access to ports. Could you tell us recent investment plans and projects to solve logistics problems? Logistic problems will be solved in the directions of the delivery of Kazakhs products to Turkey and China. For ex- ample, in addition to the existing routes through the ports of the Black and Azov Seas, we have plans to develop multi-modal supplies along the route to Turkish Kars region through the territory of Azerbaijan and Georgia. Here it is necessary to create a modern grain transshipment infra- structure and agree on acceptable transit railway tariffs. In the direction of China, the project for the development of the International Center for Border Trade, located on the border of Kazakhstan and China, has huge potential for agricultural trade with China in agricultural products, both in the form of raw materials and in the form of products made from raw materials on the territory of this Center. What are other major challenges for Kazakh grain exporters today? Kazakhstani exporters are constantly in search of mar- kets and optimal routes for delivering products to con- sumers. This is not an easy task, given the geographical location of our country. We are also working to improve the quality of exported products and establish a fair price for our products. We understand that our partners are in- terested in stable quality and compliance with the plan and delivery time of products, so the most important task for us is to solve current problems, which will allow us to comply with the requirements of our partners. Do you think there is a quality problem regarding Ka- zakh wheat? Is Kazakhstan wheat standard consistent with international standards? The quality problem of Kazakh wheat can be considered from several sides. For example, small farms do not al- ways have the ability to use modern varieties or high-qual- ity wheat seeds. But professional grain traders who buy wheat from both small farmers and large wheat producers can always form an export batch that meets the require- ments of importing buyers. Therefore, this problem can be solved by having a professional grain trader in partners. Another problem is inexperienced or unscrupulous grain traders, elevators and surveyors, who sometimes can ex- port wheat that does not meet the requirements of the buyer-importer. To solve this problem, we recommend that importers deal with professional grain traders, most of whom are members of the Kazakh Grain Union. Regarding quality standards, I want to note that Kazakh- stan has a national quality standard for wheat. Methods for determining the quality and some of their indicators differ from international standards. At the same time, Ka- zakh standards for individual quality indicators are more stringent than international ones. The Kazakh Grain Union takes an active part in the work of the State Committee for Technical Regulation regarding the harmonization of na- tional and international standards. As a result of this work, part of the quality indicators in the national standard is now determined by the methods established by ISO.