Miller Magazine Issue: 125 May 2020

Kazakhstan 99 MILLER / MAY 2020 global production and export, respectively. The bumper wheat harvest in 2012 caused a collapse in Kazakhstan, as insufficient storage capacity caused large grain losses. As a result, the government began to promote the planting of alternate higher value crops (oilseeds) to di- versify farmers’ incomes and to vary exports. This took the form of higher per-hectare subsidies for oilseeds than for wheat. Though crop-specific subsidies have now been elim- inated, this program contributed to the significant increase in oilseed production in Kazakhstan in last ten years, as well as the consequent decline in the wheat area. In the 2020/21 season, grains and pulses are expected to make up 15.2 million hectares, which is 193,000 hectares smaller than last year. This includes wheat area at 11.381 million hectares. Kazakhstani grain production is expected to recover from last year’s drought-impacted 11.4 million metric ton crop, with wheat production forecast at 13.5 million metric tons (MMT), according to United States Department of Agricul- ture’s (USDA) last report released on 27th April. This ex- pected increase is due to increased soil moisture thanks to higher precipitation last fall and during the winter. WHEAT PRODUCTION TO RECOVER USDA forecasts that Kazakh wheat production will recov- er in 2020/21season to 13.5 million metric tons (MMT), compared to 11.4 MMT during last year’s drought. Though wheat area continues to fall, higher precipitation last fall and during the winter have increased soil moisture, which is expected to lead to more average yields for MY 2020/21. Wheat exports for 2020/21 marketing year are forecast at 6.7 MMT, up from 6.0 MMT in 2019/20. Uzbekistan continues to be the number one importer of Kazakhstani wheat, as it has been for the last three years. During MY 2018/19, wheat exports to Uzbekistan made up 35 per- cent of all exports. Traders note that the demand from Central Asian countries is growing, but exports will de- pend on export quotas. Kazakhstan is a significant export- BOOK YOUR SPACE! AT P.O.Box 183063 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates Telephone : +9714 454 9868 Fax: +9714 454 2310 E m a i l : g r k e @ m x m e x h i b i t i o n s . c o m W e b : w w w . m x m e x h i b i t i o n s . c o m 07 Au g u s t 2 0 2 0 Sarit Expo Center, Nairobi - Kenya POTENT I AL SEGMENT PROMISING DESTINATION 08 09