Foreign media on Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan sign allied relations treaty, OPEC Secretariat receives updated compensation plans from Kazakhstan
In light of recent developments, including the signing of an Allied Relations Treaty by the presidents of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, the submission of updated compensation plans from Iraq and Kazakhstan to the OPEC Secretariat, and Kazakhstan’s increased wheat production, Kazinform News Agency presents a weekly review of international media coverage on Kazakhstan.
The Times of Central Asia: Kazakhstan and Tajikistan Sign Allied Relations Treaty
As reported by the Times of Central Asia, a treaty on allied relations between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan was signed on August 22 during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s state visit to Tajikistan and talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe.
Noting its significance, Rahmon stated that the treaty opens a new page in the history of Kazakh-Tajik cooperation and will become a solid foundation for strategic partnership between the two nations.
President Tokayev, in turn, emphasized that “there are no problematic issues between our countries” and announced plans to increase bilateral trade to $2 billion.
Over the past five years, the annual trade volume between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan has more than doubled, exceeding $1 billion.
Referencing Kazakhstan’s readiness to increase supplies to Tajikistan of some 85 commodities valued at $200 million, Tokayev announced: “We agreed to expand the range of goods supplied, systematically remove barriers that hinder trade and economic cooperation between our countries, and strengthen partnership in the transport and logistics sector. There is a serious potential for increasing bilateral trade in the agro-industrial sector. In the first six months of this year, agricultural trade between our countries increased by 12%, amounting to almost $300 million.”
Tokayev also emphasized the importance of cooperation in the water sector: “We agreed to continue the coordinated work on the rational use of resources of transboundary rivers of Central Asia. Kazakhstan is grateful to the Tajik side for timely decisions related to fulfilling obligations in the water and energy sector, particularly on [irrigation] water supplies to Kazakhstan.”
During the talks, it was stated that over the past five years, Kazakhstan has invested $700 million in Tajikistan’s economy. Today, more than 80 percent of Tajikistan’s fruit and vegetable exports go to Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan imports large amounts Kazakh wheat, flour, and other grain products.
On August 21, the eve of Tokayev’s visit, Dushanbe hosted a Kazakh-Tajik business forum, during which the parties signed 14 commercial contracts and cooperation agreements worth $1.2 billion.
OPEC: OPEC Secretariat receives updated compensation plans from Iraq and Kazakhstan
According to OPEC, the 37th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM) held 02 June 2024 reiterated the critical importance of adhering to full conformity and the compensation mechanism.
In light of this, the OPEC Secretariat received updated compensation plans from Iraq and Kazakhstan for their overproduced volumes for the first 7 months of 2024 (January through July 2024), which totaled about 1,440 tb/d for Iraq and 699 tb/d for Kazakhstan. To compensate, both countries have scheduled production cutbacks over the following months. Iraq’s cutbacks are spread over August 2024 to September 2025, starting with 90 tb/d in August 2024 and gradually adjusting, reaching 95 tb/d by September 2025.
Kazakhstan’s compensation plan is similarly distributed, with significant cuts like 265 tb/d in October 2024, tapering down to just 1 tb/d by September 2025. This structured reduction plan aims to balance the earlier overproduction by adjusting future output.
Reuters: Swiss International flight makes unexpected landing in Kazakhstan due to medical incident
According to Reuters, a Boeing 777 operated by Swiss International Air Lines, en route from Tokyo to Zurich, made an emergency landing in Kazakhstan on Saturday due to a medical incident onboard. The airline also mentioned that additional issues arose after the aircraft had landed.
The Boeing 777-300ER’s nose wheel got caught in the grass and was stuck, requiring it to be towed back onto the runway, the airlines said in a statement. The aircraft will be examined for damage and will be a subject of an investigation.
Swiss confirmed that none of 319 passengers onboard were injured due to the incident.
“We’ll defer to the airline for information about their fleet and operations,” Boeing said in a statement.
World-grain.com:Kazakhstan to produce more wheat; challenges remain
World-grain.com reports that Kazakhstan is anticipating a bumper crop, with nearly perfect weather conditions significantly boosting the outlook for the upcoming fall harvest, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Wheat production in 2024-25 is estimated at 15.8 million tonnes, up from 12.1 million tonnes in 2023-24. Exports are estimated at 10.5 million tonnes, up from 8.5 million tonnes.
However, a lack of demand from traditional markets like Iran, transit issues and barriers in China and Russia present active challenges to exports, the FAS said.
“Farmers are concerned that harvest pressure and international trade issues will lead to falling prices,” the report said.
In response, the government of Kazakhstan plans another six-month ban on wheat imports due to competition from Russia.
Since Russia and Kazakhstan were part of the former Soviet Union, there are no scales on the road border between the two countries. It was easy for traders to underreport the amount of wheat shipments coming across the border, the FAS said. Farmers estimate the government lost $750 million to $800 million in revenue due to underreported weights in 2023.
Barley production in 2024-25 is estimated at 3.4 million tonnes, up from 2.6 million tonnes last year and exports are estimated at 1.6 million tonnes, up from 1.2 million tonnes.
EastFruit: Egypt becomes top exporter of fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan
According to EastFruit, Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets for Egyptian fruit and vegetable products in 2024. Egypt has taken the lead in the challenging category of fresh strawberry exports to the Kazakhstani market.
“Egypt became the third-largest supplier of fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan in the 2022/23 marketing year (July-June), skyrocketing to the top with a total of 280 tons. For comparison, during the previous four marketing years, Egypt’s annual export of this berry to Kazakhstan ranged from 5 to 23 tons,” explains Yevhen Kuzin, a fruit and vegetable market analyst at EastFruit.
By the end of the recently concluded 2023/24 marketing year, Egypt had become the leading exporter of fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan, with shipments reaching nearly 1.4 thousand tons. Egypt’s share in Kazakhstan’s total imports exceeded 55%, meaning Egypt exported more fresh strawberries to Kazakhstan than all other countries combined.
“Egypt has once again confirmed its status as a country with one of the fastest rates of diversification in fruit and vegetable exports, capitalizing on the explosive growth in demand for off-season products in Central Asia. Egyptian exporters managed to outcompete Azerbaijan and Turkey, which are logistically much closer to Kazakhstan, in just two years,” continues Yevhen Kuzin.
While the EU, the Middle East, and Russia remain the largest importers of Egyptian fruit and vegetable products, Egyptian suppliers are actively developing alternative markets, with Asia being particularly promising. In addition to Kazakhstan and Central Asia, Egypt is gradually establishing a presence with fresh berries in Southeast Asia and with frozen berries in Japan and China.
