Kazakhstan Restricts Potato Exports Amid Price Surge

Kazakhstan's government has reported that potato exports have risen by 1.5 times, from 411,000 to 605,000 tons, driven by increased demand from neighboring countries, particularly Uzbekistan, and high prices this year, Orda reports.

The government notes that this heightened international demand has affected domestic markets, with export-oriented producers seeing sharp price increases from 170 to 270 tenge over the past week.

In this regard, in order to stabilize potato prices on the domestic market, at a meeting of the interdepartmental commission on trade activities held on January 18, 2025, a decision was made to limit the export of potatoes to third countries for a period of six months, the report says.

While these restrictions won't apply to EAEU member states, the government will monitor exports to these countries.

Additionally, authorities have suspended the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for exports as of January 16.

The measures taken are aimed at ensuring the stability of potato prices, preventing unjustified price increases and preventing speculative actions by market participants, the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized.

The Agriculture Ministry assures that current reserves will meet domestic demand until the early harvest of 2025.

As of January 19, total reserves exceed 850,000 tons, not including retail chain inventories.

This breaks down to 600,000 tons held by the Potato Growers Association, 68,000 tons in stabilization funds, and over 200,000 tons stored by private households and small farms.

The 2024 potato harvest yielded 2.9 million tons, including 300,000 tons from early harvest.

Between August and December 2024, consumption reached 844,000 tons, with projected consumption for January-April 2025 estimated at 675,000 tons.

Original Author: Rimma Karatayeva