NUR-SULTAN, KAZAKHSTAN — Wheat and wheat flour export restrictions have been extended until Sept. 30 by the government of Kazakhstan, which also added to the available export quota under the decree, according to a June 22 Global Agricultural Information Network report from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

The restrictions originally were approved on April 14 under the Ministry of Agriculture’s decree “Regarding export of certain goods from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and set to expire on June 15. The recently announced extension also added 550,000 tonnes of wheat to the original quota of 1 million tonnes, and 370,000 tonnes of wheat flour to the original quota of 300,000 tonnes.

During the previous two months, traders were required to sell 10% of the exported volume to the domestic market at a fixed price. The Ministry of Agriculture noted that these trade restrictions were meant to balance wheat and wheat flour exports with domestic food security needs. 

Exporters can now export up to 1,550,000 tonnes of wheat and 670,000 tonnes of wheat flour until Sept. 30. As of June 16, the Grain Union of Kazakhstan announced that 54% of the original 1 million tonnes wheat export quota, and 91% of the original 300,000 tonnes wheat flour quota, had been exported.

Wheat and wheat flour exports during April 15 to June 15 were less than the five-year historical average from which it is believed the government derived the original quota amounts.

Since February, the price of wheat in Kazakhstan increased from about $267 per tonne to $400 per tonne. As part of the export restriction agreement stating that applicants sell 10% of the exported volume domestically, the government’s Food Contracting Corp. is reportedly purchasing wheat for $258 per tonne.