Will Kazakhstanis have enough rice? Its production in the country has noticeably decreased - immediately minus 8% for the year

In January-December 2023, the country produced 205.1 thousand tons of rice* - 8.4% less than a year earlier, the Agrosektor.kz portal reports, citing analysts from the Eneryprom.kz agency. According to the information, the largest volume traditionally fell on the Kyzylorda region: over 12 months - 92% of the total output in the Republic of Kazakhstan, or 188.8 thousand tons of rice, minus 8.9% for the year. Rice is also produced in three more regions - Almaty, Turkestan and Zhetysu regions: 9.5 thousand tons, 6.7 thousand tons and 138 tons, respectively. It is noted that based on the results of January-November 2023, Kazakh rice farmers provided demand (export plus sales in the domestic market) for rice* by 87.7%, against 95.7% a year earlier. The share of imports accordingly increased to 12.3%. During this period, 26.6 thousand tons of rice were brought into the country - immediately 2.8 times more than in 11 months of the previous year. Exports increased by 3.2%, to 102.5 ...