KZBlog

According to Kazakh-Zerno, an analytical site, wheat from Kazakhstan rose to US$329.8 a tonne on 10 March, making it the most expensive wheat in the country. How much this is linked to Russia’s wheat export ban, I don’t know.

The article ends by asking, “Should we be proud of this or what?” Now I’m no economist but it seems to me that high wheat prices means a rise in the price of food. Also farmers will be tempted to export their wheat instead of selling it abroad, meaning a wheat shortage inside Kazakhstan, which will also drive up prices. On the other hand, the government may chose to ban the export of wheat or limit it. That will annoy local producers who see potential profits drifting away. There’s also the question of whether the price will be driven so high that importers won’t want to buy Kazakhstan wheat.

Certainly the local population is much more concerned with the problem of prices of bread and flour inside Kazakhstan if the comments on the Kazakh-Zerno article are any indication.