Kazakhstan’s Railways Overwhelmed as Grain Exports Grind to a Halt

Kazakhstan’s railways are struggling with grain shipments, as overcrowded ports and slow unloading in China have forced Kazakhstan Temir Joly (KTZ) to impose multiple shipment bans, leaving thousands of railcars stranded and exports stalled, Orda.kz reports.

From October 6 to 20, KTZ has suspended grain shipments bound for the Aqtau seaport due to terminal congestion.

According to ElDala.kz, about 700 loaded railcars are already stuck at Aqtau, with another 140 en route.

The delays stem from irregular vessel arrivals at Caspian ports, which remain a key export route for Kazakh barley. Last season, 1.2 million tons of grain — 65% of total exports — were shipped through these ports. This year, the Kazakhstan Grain Union expects shipments to Iran to fall to 980,000 tons.

Difficulties have also emerged on the eastern route. Between October 4 and 10, KTZ banned shipments of grain, oilseeds, and processed products to China via the Dostyq station, citing slow unloading on the Chinese side. Only nine trains per day are reportedly being processed, creating a bottleneck of 470 railcars at the border and another 3,600 en route.

KTZ had previously introduced three-month restrictions — from October 1 to December 31 — on the use of foreign-owned railcars for shipments to Kazakhstan, China, and Caspian ports. The total backlog now exceeds 94,000 cars, nearly half of them foreign-owned.

With railway hubs clogged with agricultural cargo, farmers and exporters face mounting losses. As grain sits idle on the tracks, it loses both value and time.

Original Author: Alina Pak