Rosselkhoznadzor Against Grain Imports from Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture Awaiting Clarification

Vice Minister of Agriculture Yermek Kenzhehanuly commented on Rosselkhoznadzor's request to suspend grain exports, tomatoes, peppers, and sunflower seeds from the Republic of Kazakhstan to Russia. 

Kenzhehanuly, on the sidelines of the Senate, confirmed the receipt of an appeal from Rosselkhoznadzor in mid-September. However, according to him, Kazakhstan has not received confirmation from the Russian side about the alleged violations related to infestants and diseases.

We have requested a reply letter from Rosselkhoznadzor so that they provide us with facts that confirm the violations. We need this to make sure these violations actually exist. We have asked for the relevant acts on laboratory tests and the results of these works, Kenzhehanuly said.

According to the Vice Minister, the Kazakh side performs all necessary checks before export. Laboratories in Kazakhstan comply with international standards, and no violations were found during inspections, he confirms.

When the Vice-minister was asked if the Russian side could have made a mistake, he replied that it was too early to draw conclusions:

We need to verify all the data; after that, we will be able to tell if there was an error.

Some experts suggest that the situation may be related to Kazakhstan's recent ban on wheat imports, but Kenzhehanuly does not correlate these events.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova