Kazakhstan extends wheat imports ban to prevent grey imports

The Kazakh Agriculture Ministry has extended the existing ban on wheat imports to fight grey imports, Kazinform News Agency reports.

In 10 months of 2023 Kazakhstan has imported 1.6 million tons of wheat, that is 25 per cent higher than in the analogous period of the previous year (1.3 million tons). The wheat was mostly imported from the Russian Federation.

In order to prevent grey imports, the Agriculture Ministry introduced the ban on wheat imports by road for a period of 6 months on April 10, 2023. The ban was extended for another 6 months in late September 2023 and banned wheat imports by railroad.

Earlier it was reported that illegal transit of Russian wheat is likely to hamper Kazakhstan’s wheat exports to Central Asia.