As part of the official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the PRC, the parties signed a joint Protocol allowing Kazakh companies to export rapeseed seeds to China. Previously, such an opportunity was not available due to restrictions from the phytosanitary control authorities of the PRC.
According to QazTrade, the dynamics of Kazakh rapeseed exports over the past 10 years have not been stable. After an increase in supply volumes by 68% from 2013 to 2018, there was a decrease in 2022 by 65% (by 107.1 thousand tons) compared to 2018 figures.
Also during this period the price changed significantly. The peak annual average was recorded in 2022 at $717 per ton, which is 61% higher than the average annual price in 2013.
According to official data, in January-August 2023, the volume of Kazakhstan’s exports of rapeseed amounted to 52.1 thousand tons, which is 2 thousand tons more than the same period last year.
As for the prospects for supplies of Kazakh rapeseed to China, they are still very vague. This opinion was voiced by the official representative of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, Evgeny Karabanov, in a conversation with APK-Inform.
“Five years ago, in 2018, Kazakh farmers sowed more than 367 thousand hectares of rapeseed. Oilseeds, in particular, were actively purchased in the Baltic states for the production of biodiesel. They were also supplied to China, but unofficially, through Mongolia. But after the cabbage moth invasion in 2018-2019, which severely damaged the crops, the area under rapeseed decreased sharply. Also affected by the scandal with the discovery of GMOs in batches of rapeseed meal originating from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, which were delivered to China at the beginning of 2020. As a result, China has tightened control of agricultural products. Perhaps, after the signing of the protocol between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People’s Republic of China, Kazakh farmers will again increase the area under rapeseed, but for now, due to the difficult situation in the agriculture sector, they have no time for that,” the expert said.
He clarified that today the export of rapeseed from Kazakhstan is insignificant. It is purchased mainly by domestic oilseed processors.