Kazakhstan harvests 15.5M tons of grain, forecasts 24M tons
A grain harvest of 24 million tons is expected in Kazakhstan this year. This amount will be sufficient to completely cover the country's demand for food grain, feed, and seeds, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov announced this during a Government meeting today.
According to the minister, harvesting is nearly complete in the southern regions.
"The total harvesting area covers 23.6 million hectares, with 16 million hectares of grain and legume crops," said.
The work started on schedule and is ahead of last year's pace.
To date, 10.2 million hectares of grain have been harvested. The average yield is 15.2 centners per hectare, bringing the total threshed grain to 15.5 million tons.
Saparov added that the Government will support the expansion of Kazakhstan's grain to new markets by extending subsidies to cover the costs of exporting grain to seaports.
On September 18, Kazinform reported that 12.7 million tons of grain were harvested in Kazakhstan.
