Miller Magazine Issue: 149 May 2022

34 MILLER / MAY 2022 NEWS Kazakhstan has decided to limit wheat and wheat flour exports until June 15 to 1 million tonnes and 300,000 tonnes respectively. Exporters will also be required to sell 10 percent of the exported volume to the domestic market at a fixed price. Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture noted that these trade restrictions were meant to balance wheat and wheat flour exports with domestic food security needs. Accord- ing to a decree approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, each eligible applicant could export up to 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 15,000 tonnes of wheat flour. To administer the export restrictions, the Ministry an- nounced it would regularly publish the domestic purchase price for the products listed in the decree, the list of do- mestic receiving enterprises, and updates on allocated and available export quotas. The Ministry noted that the export restrictions may be extended or canceled depend- ing on market signals and spring planting outcomes. Many viewed the export restrictions as not overly bur- densome to the grain industry compared to other poten- tial scenarios that were discussed by the government and industry representatives. The Ministry of Agriculture set the quota amounts approximately in line with historic monthly Kazakhstani wheat and wheat flour exports. How- ever, some grain traders voiced concerns that these re- strictions would force them to renegotiate already signed contracts. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the price of wheat in Kazakhstan increased from approximately $268 per MT to $358 per MT. Many flour mill representatives expressed concern about the export restrictions, the high price of domestic wheat, and the lack of Russian wheat imports. Of the estimated 170 flour mills in Kazakhstan, only an es- timated 120 are operating due to the lack of affordable grain. According to the Millers Union of Kazakhstan, more than half of the mills in Kostanay, 40 percent in Karagan- da, and the majority in North Kazakhstan, Pavlodar, and Almaty have suspended operations. Many of these mills are expected to cease operations in the next few weeks if domestic wheat prices do not decrease. Kazakhstan exported 4.3 million tonnes of wheat and wheat flour in 2021/22 seasın, a 7 percent increase from the same period last season. Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, remained the key buyers of Kazakhstani wheat and wheat flour. Kazakhstan restricts wheat and flour export until June 15