Farmers are not ready to trade high risk products

The situation on the grain markets of Eurasia in the new geopolitical realities were discussed at an international conference in Almaty. The main issues on the agenda - the search for new markets for Kazakh grain products, as well as ways to diversify the agricultural sector of our country, World of NAN reports with reference to "Khabar 24".

Last year, Kazakhstan received a very good harvest of crops. To date, the export of wheat to foreign markets amounts to about six million tons. Agrarians say that this is far from the limit. The delivery of eight million tons of grain is well within the power of our agricultural producers. However, to achieve such results in the new geopolitical conditions is an extremely difficult task.

" Very low price of today's agricultural products has a significant influence. Because last year our neighbor to the north had a very large harvest. And it is dumping the price very heavily, because all of its historical markets are closed," said Alibek Atay, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Exporters.

Russia has entered the markets of Central Asia, Afghanistan. And in connection with this greatly dumping our prices and because of this Kazakh agricultural producers suffer. Today, Russian grain prices are almost 30% lower than the Kazakh ones. In such conditions, even taking into account the high transit tariffs, our products become non-competitive.

Last week, the Government introduced a temporary ban on the import of grain from Russia by road. Kazakhstan, as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, can not completely block the transit. However, we can compete in terms of grain quality, which is higher in our country. It is quite possible that we can enter the Chinese market.

"The Chinese market has opened up for us. We could not export for three years because of quarantine restrictions. But since April we started exporting to China in test mode. At the level of the governments of our countries we came to an agreement, and the first pilot project - 100 thousand tons - we sent in April. Now we will build up this potential. If we access China, it will be a great help", - says Alibek Atay.

However, today farmers are concerned about how the grain market will change in the mid-term perspective, i.e. in the next 5-10 years. It is clear that to trade products with high risk is to lose in the competition. This is a dead-end road. But Kazakhstan is not ready for reorientation of agricultural production now.

Now the season of low prices is coming on the grain market. Times, as it was said from the highest tribunes, are going to be difficult. And in these conditions, the state needs to provide greater support to the agricultural sector, experts say.

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