Kazakhstan has imposed a ban on the export of potatoes to third countries, as reported by the business information center Kapital.kz, citing the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, there is currently a high demand for Kazakhstani potatoes from neighboring countries.
By the end of 2024, approximately 605 thousand tons of potatoes were exported from Kazakhstan, which is 1.5 times higher than the level in 2023, when the figure was 411 thousand tons. This figure became a record for the last 10 years and significantly impacted domestic prices, the Ministry explained.
“In this regard, in order to stabilize the market situation and prevent price increases, the Interdepartmental Commission on External Trade Policy and Participation in International Economic Organizations decided on January 18, 2025, to limit the export of potatoes by all modes of transport from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, except for exports to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, for a period of 6 months. Based on this decision, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued an order ‘On Certain Issues of Potato Export from the Territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan’ on January 27, 2025, No. 26, which introduced a ban on the export of potatoes by all modes of transport to third countries,” the agricultural ministry's information stated.
The measures taken will help prevent a speculative rise in potato prices and, accordingly, speculative actions by market participants.
It is worth noting that the government press service previously reported that due to the situation with potatoes in the country, enhanced monitoring is being conducted, and in case of violations of trade legislation, “immediate measures will be taken against market participants.”
The relevant ministry assured that the available vegetable stocks are sufficient to fully cover the domestic demand until the early harvest of 2025.
The Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan presented the results of commissions identifying unproductive intermediaries. During inspections, 49 violations were identified regarding the exceeding of the trade markup of 15% on potatoes as a socially significant product.