Page 16 - Kazakh Outlook 2022

4.5 Agriculture

Kazakhstan’s agricultural production was hit by severe drought in 2021
amid a heatwave that struck multiple countries in the region. Grain
production was hit the hardest. Kazakhstan is Central Asia’s largest
grain producer. The ex-Soviet state ships grain to neighbouring Central
Asian nations along with Iran, Afghanistan and Black Sea ports.

Kazakhstan's 2021 grain harvest has come in at 16.4mn tonnes, down
from 20.1mn tonnes last year, the Central Asian nation's agriculture
ministry said on November 18. The lower yields were partly offset by
the higher quality of this year's wheat, which accounted for the bulk of
the harvest, the ministry noted.

The drought of 2021 is unlikely to affect Kazakhstan’s own supplies in
2022 as the country intends to rely on high stocks and imports from
Russia to support grain supplies in the 2021/22 season, which began
on July 1.

The country might face further difficulties if a similar drought occurs in
2022, however.

The drought led to mass die-offs of livestock in 2021 due to feed
shortages - a problem that is likely to have longlasting consequences
for Kazakh farmers’ meat and dairy production.

Reports in October said that Kazakh farmers were selling off livestock
due to feed shortages in the country despite measures taken by
authorities to avoid this scenario. The government banned feed exports
and introduced caps on grain exports on August 15, but prices for most
feedstuffs have risen sharply in most regions of the country over the
past few months, leaving thousands of Kazakh farmers on the edge of
collapse.

Specifically, Kazakhstan banned exports of rye. It has set limits on
exports of barley and wheat used for animal feed for six months.

In September, Tokayev described plans to impose export duties on
grain as premature, while noting that the country was carrying out
measures to prepare for a more modest harvest this year due to
drought. Such export duties may see the light in 2022.

16 Kazakhstan Outlook 2022 www.intellinews.com