Kazakhstan: A Sharp Rise in Wheat Seed Prices Expected
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In Kazakhstan, the ripening of cereals this season happened earlier than the traditional dates due to the hot, dry summer. However, nature prevented the harvesting of the crop that had already arrived. Cloudy weather with prolonged rains captured the Grain belt of Kazakhstan, which does not allow the equipment to work in the field entirely.
There are several risks in this situation. Firstly, the volume of the crop suffers – overripe Grain begins to crumble. Secondly, Grain quality is also under threat. Precipitation washes out gluten, reducing the classiness of Wheat. If the equipment goes into the fields during short periods of good weather, the harvested Grain has a moisture content above 20%, while the norm is 14%. This forces farmers to dry the Grain, which leads to additional costs and reduces the already low profitability of agricultural production this year.
And most importantly, due to high humidity, the germination of the Grain remaining in the field begins. Moreover, the ear sprouts both on the vine and in the dumped Wheat. This leads to a complete loss of quality; such Grain will only be suitable for fodder.
Farmers note that the craze for short-stemmed imported varieties has played a cruel joke. The fact is that their spike stands vertically and is more susceptible to moisture accumulation during rain, while in domestic varieties with a long stem, the spike droops, and moisture freely rolls down the spike scales.
Two-handled varieties (spring-winter) are also more susceptible to germination. They have a short seed dormancy period. Against this background, it becomes obvious that a reasonable price on the market this year can only be obtained for hi-pro Wheat. And there will be a lot of fodder Grain.
As for productivity, the picture is very different depending on whether the region fell under precipitation in summer or remained entirely without rain. It also matters whether the farm uses moisture-saving agricultural technologies.
If both terms are negative, farmers report a yield of 4-7 q/ha. At the same time, the quality of Grain is deficient. Farmers generally compare the current season with 2019, when the weather conditions were similar: after a cold spring, there was a dry summer, then rained for a long time in autumn. This led to empty ears and, in addition – to a decrease in the quality of Grain. It is also already apparent that farmers will face problems forming the seed fund due to Grain germination.
Kazakhstan Wheat Exports
According to AgFlow data, Kazakhstan exported 4,500 tons of Wheat to Iran in July 2023. The Food corporation of Kazakhstan intends to supply up to 200,000 tons of Kazakh Grain to the Shandong province of China. The corresponding intentions of the Corporation were fixed in the memorandum of cooperation with Binzhou Zhongyu Foods.
According to the press service of the Food Corporation, the memorandum was signed in Almaty during the meeting of the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerbol Karashukeev, and the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Communist Party of China of Shandong Province Lin Wu. The parties discussed the potential for increasing the volume of annual Grain supplies to 1 million tons and more.
According to the agreements, the Food Corporation exports up to 200 thousand tons of grade 3 Wheat to the Chinese market,” the Food Corporation noted. The parties also discussed the possibility of joint scientific activities in the agro-industrial complex. This year, the Ministry of Agriculture has developed a draft Comprehensive Plan for the development of breeding and primary seed production of crops, the main task of which will be the creation of competitive new-generation varieties with high productivity potential.
A memorandum between the Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University and the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences sealed the intentions. The parties will conduct joint research and development in seed production.
Other sources: GRAIN UNION KZ
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