Kazakhstan gathered 12.3 million to 12.4 million tonnes of grain by clean weight this year and may export up to 4.5 million tonnes by the next harvest, Agriculture Minister Serik Umbetov said on Tuesday. "The harvest comprised 13.9 million tonnes by bunker weight. This is the final figure," Umbetov told reporters.
He said wheat accounted for 11.7 million to 11.8 million tonnes by bunker weight in the total grain crop. He gave no clean-weight estimates for wheat.
A senior Kazakh agriculture ministry official said last month that the Central Asian state was most likely to export only 3.0 million tonnes of grain, far below earlier forecasts of 5.0 million tonnes.
The official said at the time that this year's good grain harvests in Russia and Ukraine were the main reason for the expected sharp fall in Kazakh grain exports.
Last year Russia and Ukraine both suffered from poor grain crops and had to resort to massive gain imports from Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan's wheat is prized by importers for its high gluten and protein content. This summer in Kazakhstan was hot and dry - a boon for high-quality hard wheat, specialists say.
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