Kazakhstan considers limiting grain and flour exports

Kazakhstan is considering temporarily limiting grain and flour exports after neighbour Russia banned grain exports, Agriculture Minister Yerbol Karashukeyev said on Monday.

He provided no detail of the possible limitations. Kazakhstan has used export quotas in the past.

Karashukeyev said the authorities wanted to ensure farmers would meet domestic demand before exporting their produce.

Kazakhstan usually exports grains to neighbouring Central Asian nations and Afghanistan; it also ships some to China and to Black Sea ports. At the same time, Kazakhstan usually imports limited volumes of wheat from Russia.

The government of Uzbekistan, one of the key buyers of Kazakh grains, said on Monday it plans to buy up to 600,000 tonnes of grain from Kazakhstan and elsewhere to boost state stockpiles and ensure domestic food security as global food prices spike.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Tamara Vaal; writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan)