At a meeting last week, Kazakhstan's Interdepartmental Commission decided to completely ban wheat imports by rail and road, announced Yevgeny Gan, Chairman of the Founding Council of the Union of Grain Processors of Kazakhstan. The Grain Union of Kazakhstan confirmed the information, noting no official protocol has been issued yet, according to APK News. Initially, the Commission planned a ban without exceptions, but the Union of Grain Processors convinced it to allow imports exclusively by rail based on lists submitted by the Union, including for elevators and poultry farms, following 2024 experience. The Grain Union forecasted in early May that Kazakhstan would start the new season with 2 million tons of grain from previous years, considering current Russian imports, and stated this volume would not pressure market prices.
Gan noted the ban's justification was unconvincing. He argued that reduced demand for Russian grain should lower border wheat and flour prices, suggesting a simultaneous ban on wheat flour imports would be logical. He also cited record harvests in 2024 and 2025, growing populations in Central Asia and Afghanistan, and annual bread consumption increase of 400,000 tons per year according to the Grain Processors' Union. Gan questioned whether Kazakhstan can meet growing wheat demand in the medium term, as several deep grain processing plants requiring at least an additional two million tons of wheat per year are set to launch.