China to resume acquiring Kazakhstani grain while Russia bans agricultural imports from Kazakhstan

Chinese companies want to resume Kazakhstani grain imports, the press office of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture reported. The preliminary arrangement implies acquiring the first 100,000 tons of grain and oilseed crops. 

A Chinese delegation led by representatives from China Grain Reserves Group Ltd., CITIC Construction and the China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation (CAPIAC) visited Kazakhstan to negotiate the issue.

At a meeting with Chinese partners, Aidarbek Saparov, Kazakhstan’s minister of agriculture, announced that this year’s harvest has been successful, with 26 million tons of high-quality wheat produced, while an additional three million tons of oilseed crops are expected to be harvested later.

«Your market is of great interest for us, so we are ready to boost the volume of grain exports to three to four million tons,» Saparov said.

China Grain Reserves Group Ltd. Chair Deng Yiwu has also expressed their willingness to import oilseed crops and soybeans from Kazakhstan. 

«We acquire 100 million tons of grain and oilseed crops annually. We intend to cooperate and conclude a supply contract with you. There are issues concerning logistics, yet we are ready to jointly solve them,» Deng noted.

Earlier this month, Kazakhstan’s cabinet was instructed to expand grain exports to China to three million tons by the end of the year, with the initial target of two million tons. Over the first nine months of the year, Kazakhstan exported 1.3 million tons of grain to China via rail.

In early August, Eldala.kz, a Kazakhstani online media outlet specializing in agriculture, reported that Chinese customs had completely banned Kazakhstani wheat grain imports by enterprises registered in the bond zone in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, citing Kazakhstani grain traders. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture later said that trade with China was postponed indefinitely, adding that significant time and effort from traders would be required to resume exports. 

Meanwhile, on Oct. 17, Russia introduced temporary limitations on imports of Kazakhstani wheat, lens, linseed and melon. The ban also covers tomatoes and peppers from third-party countries imported via Kazakhstan. The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) has claimed that the restrictions were introduced due to the phytosanitary regulation violations by the Kazakhstani side, which the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan strongly denied. 

According to some experts interviewed by Kursiv.media, the Russian agency’s actions may be retaliatory to Kazakhstan’s ban on imports of wheat from Russia imposed in mid-August. A few experts even described the situation as a «trade war.»