Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest grain producer and exporter, has raised its grain export forecast for the 2015/16 marketing year by 1 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes, the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday. Kazakhstan, which traditionally exports grains to post-Soviet central Asia and to Caspian Sea neighbours Iran and Azerbaijan, also plans to increase its grain crop by 0.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 17.7 million tonnes.
"This amount is enough to cover domestic needs of the country at 9.0-9.5 million tonnes and to get the exportable surplus of 8 million tonnes of grain, including flour," the ministry said on its website www.mgov.kz. It did not provide a reason for the revision of the grain export forecast. The country exported 6.4 million tonnes of grains, including flour, in the previous marketing year which ended on June 30. Kazakh farmers have already harvested 1.3 million tonnes of grain by bunker weight from 5.5 percent of the total area. Yields are currently at 1.64 tonnes per hectare, the ministry's data showed.