Uzbekistan will import 100,000 tonnes of wheat from Kazakhstan, and additionally, the government will seek ways to import another 500,000 tonnes of wheat from other countries to secure food safety and stabilise prices.

The government resolution gives permission to purchase from Kazakhstan 100,000 tonnes of the third class of wheat (part of it being flour) at affordable prices. The agreement is planned to be signed between the Uzbek Committee for the management of state reserves (Uzkomgosrezerv) and the Food Contract Corporation of Kazakhstan.

The document instructs the ministry of agriculture and the ministry of economic development and poverty reduction “to make a reasonable proposal on the need to import another 500,000 tonnes of grain, depending on the situation in the domestic and foreign markets.”

Also, the Uzkomgosreserve will apply 50 percent preferential tariffs for the transportation of imported wheat and vegetable oil by rail effective from April 1 until the end of 2022.

According to expert estimations, Uzbekistan imports almost 90 percent of grain from Kazakhstan. In 2021, Uzbekistan purchased $648.3 million worth of grain and grain products from Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan’s annual flour consumption is around 2.5 million tonnes, experts said.