Kazakhstan Deputy Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Tasjurekov announced at the press conference that grain imports by land were banned for 6 months and the decision came into effect as of April 10.
Tasjurekov stated that the decision was taken to prevent illegal entry of grain from neighboring countries.
Sharing the information that the ban decision only covers grain transportation by land, Tasjurekov said that no restrictive measures were introduced for grain imports by rail.
Tasjurekov pointed out that illegal grain entry has increased especially in the provinces of the country close to the Russian border, emphasizing that this situation destabilizes the domestic grain market and causes budget losses.
Russian grain, which enters the country by land through the regions of Kazakhstan close to the Russian border, is sold to third countries, primarily Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
This situation negatively affects the domestic market in Kazakhstan, which is a grain exporter like Russia.