Potatoes from Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, have been detained at the border with Uzbekistan, reports Tengrinews.kz citing KTK.
At the Saryagash station, 43 wagons filled with potatoes are currently stalled. In January, entrepreneurs sold the potatoes to Uzbekistan, and the freight train was dispatched to the buyer. However, it was halted at the border for a phytosanitary inspection. The vegetables remained in the wagon for over 10 days, causing the potatoes to freeze and spoil.
"Look, it's rotten. Water is already flowing, it all leaked out! First, it froze, then it thawed, and that's it. There are 68 tons in one wagon. But it's already unfit for consumption!" - said entrepreneur Azamat Serikbayev.
According to the sellers, the potatoes are not even suitable for livestock. They are perplexed as to why the cargo was delayed for so long. The documents were processed in mid-January, before the export ban was introduced. Therefore, the businesspeople see no reason for such a lengthy delay.
"The akimat asked us to sell this potato for 100-150 tenge. Although it currently costs from 300 tenge per kilo. I don't know what to do next. All the losses are now on my shoulders. I've lost 60 million tenge from three wagons!" - said entrepreneur Nursultan Ormanov.
Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture assure that the wagons with the vegetable cargo underwent the required inspection. They found no obstacles for their onward journey.
"As of today, according to my information, the inspection work has been completed. The necessary information has been identified. Currently, there are no obstacles or barriers for the further movement of the wagons. Therefore, the 43 export-oriented wagons can cross the border," - stated the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerbol Taszhurekov.
However, such a belated approval is of no use to the entrepreneurs now. Representatives of five companies suffering losses have announced their intention to sue the officials.
Recall that in mid-January, potato prices in cities across Kazakhstan surged to 455 tenge. In response to the situation, the government imposed a temporary ban on the export of the product and began investigating trading intermediaries. For current potato prices in various regions of Kazakhstan, see the overview in this article.
