ASTANA – Kazakhstan gathered 23.3 million hectares of crops this year, including 16.7 million hectares cultivated with grain. The fieldwork is reported as 99.7% complete. A total of 26.5 million tons of grain were threshed, said Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov at an Oct. 23 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
Kazakhstan plans to export nearly 12 million tons of grain from the new harvest. Photo credit: agbz.kz
Bektenov underlined that it is necessary to ensure grain supplies to both traditional markets – the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan – and new ones – Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan, that expect import growth. It is planned to export nearly 12 million tons of grain from the new harvest.
According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the volume of preferential financing for the industry has been brought to a record 580 billion tenge (US$1.2 billion) for the first time. In 2025, the amount will reach 700 billion tenge (US$1.4 billion). Nearly 120 billion tenge (US$246.7 million) were attracted for leasing agricultural machinery, and farmers were provided with high-quality seeds and fertilizers. These measures made it possible to achieve high results for all types of crops. In particular, Kazakhstan plans to harvest a record-breaking 1.2 million tons of sugar beet this year.
“Now our main task is to preserve and sell the harvest. The Ministry of Agriculture and the akimats (administration) of the regions, must ensure the timely removal of grain from the fields, its drying and filling into elevators. All grain receiving enterprises must switch to an uninterrupted mode of operation. It is important to control the proper storage conditions of grain. Phytosanitary service employees must also exercise strict control over the quality of grain. Along with this, it is necessary to ensure 100% seeding for the future harvest,” Bektenov noted.
