wheat
Kazakhstan lifts wheat export ban
(SRI) - On September 1, Kazakhstan lifted government’s ban on wheat export imposed in April, Interfax reported.
A response to rising prices of bread, the ban was intended to ensure the nation’s food stocks and to insulate the domestic market from price increases on world grain markets.
Prime Minister Karim Massimov said earlier that the ban would be lifted only if he was personally convinced that the domestic market would not suffer and all regions have sufficient grain stocks.
“If the grain supply is guaranteed in the republic, we will not impose any type of bans in the future” he said.
Kazakhstan harvested a record high grain crop of 20.1 million tons in 2007, 22% more than in 2006, including 16.6 million tons of wheat (compared to 13.5 million tons in 2006).
Kazakhstan Business and Economy Roundup - July 2, 2008
Economy: Bullish PM rejects tag of stricken tiger
(Financial Times) - Growth forecasts are down, but the picture is far from bleak.
Stock exchange: Market comes out of shadows
(Financial Times) - Birzha, a stock market game, hopes to educate a class of day traders to buy and sell on KASE, the country’s real exchange.
Capital markets: Outlook starts to worsen
(Financial Times) - In April, Kazakhstan’s long-term credit outlook was lowered from stable to negative amind concerns whether its banks would be able to weather the credit crisis.
Grain: Prized crop gives strategists food for thought
(Financial Times) - Kazakhstan is already recognized as an emerging global oil power. It could also play an important role in easing world grain shortages.
Business schools in drive for quality
(Financial Times) - The two best-known business schools in Kazakhstan are overcoming resource issues in a long-term drive to raise their standards.
Kazakhstan reports 1.2 percent inflation in June (SRI)
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Alcatel-Lucent: JSC “Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan” and Alcatel-Lucent deploy IP/MPLS network for Halyk Bank in Kazakhstan (M2 Presswire)
Kazakhstan Growth Forum - a platform for potential international investors to get acquainted with country (Kazinform)
National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates July 2, 2008 (Kazinform)
Indicators - July 1, 2008
(Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s economic indicators based on data provided by the State Statistics Agency, government institutions, the central bank and exchanges.
Kazakhstan’s Wheat Dilemma
Last Monday, Akhmetzhan Yesimov, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture, announced that the government planned to limit wheat exports as it battled rising domestic inflation. This announcement led to record prices on global commodity markets as investors worried that supplies of the grain may not be enough to meet demand.
