Europe bans grain imports from Russia and Belarus: what does this mean for Kazakhstan

Published 2024년 6월 13일

Tridge summary

Starting July 1, 2024, the EU will impose prohibitive duties on wheat, corn, sunflower seeds, and feed products from Russia and Belarus, effectively halting their import. This presents an opportunity for Kazakhstan, a significant supplier of durum wheat to Europe, to increase its market share, which reached 19.8% in 2023-2024. However, logistical and political challenges, such as the need for special transit tariffs through Russia, may impact Kazakhstan's ability to fully capitalize on this opportunity. Despite these challenges, Kazakhstan's high-protein durum wheat remains in demand, and the country continues to increase its grain exports, with 1.5 million tons recently exported to China, Italy, and Afghanistan. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan forecasts a wheat harvest of approximately 12.53 million tons in 2024.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

From July 1, 2024, the European Union will introduce “prohibitive” duties on the import of wheat, corn, sunflower seeds, and feed products from Russia and Belarus. The duties will increase to such an extent that in practice the import of these products will be stopped, Zakon.kz reports. It would seem that this news should cause a stir among grain producers in Kazakhstan. However, in practice, everything is not so simple. Kazakhstan has been supplying grain to Europe for a long time. Thus, in 2023, exports to EU countries amounted to 650 thousand tons. It would seem that this is not much. But the fact is that we send durum wheat to the countries of the Old World, which is especially valued there. Last year, Kazakhstan generally entered, or rather, broke into the top 3 suppliers of durum wheat for European countries. According to the European Commission report as of May 27, 2024, in 2023-2024 the share of durum wheat supplies from Kazakhstan to the EU increased to 19.8% (462,125 ...

Source: Zol