The very actions of officials have led to problems with onions

About a year ago, World of NAN reported in detail on the ban on onion exports and the skyrocketing price of onions. At that time, the ban on exports did not have much effect on the price on the domestic market, and the statistics on domestic consumption of onions were also questionable. The ban was replaced by a quota three months later, and farmers complained about rotting onions. In the current year 2024, the situation has not changed much.

Farmers are again complaining about rotting onions from last year's crop, and statistical figures from various agencies continue to make a mess of things. For 2023, onion exports are down 70,000 tons amid bans. It doesn't seem to be that much, but there is still speculation that if there had been no export restrictions last year, the current situation could have been a bit milder, and prices on the shelves would have remained about the same.

As for the statistics, the official report of the Ministry of Agriculture again says that domestic consumption of onions is 315 thousand tons with total production of 1.1 million tons, which implies exports of 800 thousand tons. Last year, similarly large figures were also voiced. But the Bureau of National Statistics says that only 117 thousand tons are exported (data for 2023), while 1.2 million tons of onions are sold on the domestic market.

In the official message of the Ministry they write that the country has overproduction of onions by three times, and there is now nowhere to put them. That is, they hint that the situation with rotting onions is as if natural, since consumption is three times less than production. But then a reasonable question arises: why was there an export ban that year with such an overproduction, while prices on the market were rising every week? As you can see, the current explanations do not coincide with previous actions, and for some reason the statistics do not coincide with each other.

Perhaps we need to deal with the statistics first. Determine what volume of onions are still consumed by Kazakhstan residents. What is the reason for the discrepancy between the figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Bureau of National Statistics, and whether gray/black exports play a role here. And after that it will be possible to make more precise decisions regarding future export bans or quotas, as well as to prevent farmers from overstocking onions.

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