Since the beginning of this year, Kazakhstan has increased its potato exports by 13 times. Kazakhstan earned $8.4 million from potato exports, compared to $1.7 million the previous year. In six months, the country exported 108.7 thousand tons of potatoes, which is 12.9 times more compared to the same period last year. Uzbekistan was as the primary buyer, importing 103.7 thousand tons (an increase of 14.5 times).
The export of onions and garlic also grew by 14%, reaching 60.3 thousand tons. The main importing countries for these products are Uzbekistan, Russia, and Pakistan.
However, some vegetable exports declined. For instance, cucumber exports decreased by 12.6% (3.5 thousand tons), and tomato exports dropped by 34.4% (7.3 thousand tons). All of these volumes were sold to Russia.
Cabbage sales also decreased by 4.1% to 6.9 thousand tons. Russia purchased 5.7 thousand tons (a 14% increase), Belarus bought 956.9 tons (a decrease of 2.3 times), and Latvia purchased 279.5 tons.
There was a decline in imports of all types of vegetables. Over six months, Kazakhstan imported 22.1 thousand tons of potatoes, marking a 44% decrease. Imports of potatoes from Pakistan sharply decreased by 5.6 times to 4.9 thousand tons. On the contrary, imports increased from certain countries: Russia (9.9 thousand tons, up by 1.6 times), Uzbekistan (3.8 thousand tons, up by 1.5 times), and Germany (739.2 tons, up by 1.2%).
Imports of cucumbers (-10.7%) and tomatoes (-18.4%) also decreased in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and China. Additionally, cabbage imports were reduced by 2.4 times to 41.8 thousand tons from Uzbekistan, China, and Iran.
Source : FP