Kazakhstan, the biggest grain producer in Central Asia, harvested a 2003 crop of 14.8 million tonnes by clean weight, down seven percent on the record 2002 harvest, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday.
The data came after signals from the government that it may seek to protect its domestic grain supplies following a boom in exports, particularly to Russia and Ukraine.
"According to initial statistical data 14.8 million tonnes of clean weight grain was harvested in 2003," said an official at the agriculture ministry. "Any revision of this data would only be to an insignificant degree." The data were in line with earlier official estimates.
Kazakhstan consumes about nine million tonnes of grain and the government has forecast exports of five million tonnes from the current harvest. Agriculture Minister Akhmetzan Yesimov said last month that if demand for Kazakh grain continued to boom in January the government might take extra measures to protect the internal market.
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