KAZAKHSTAN (26 September)
The cereal harvest is nearly complete in much of the country, and latest estimates point to an aggregate output of about 16.2 million tonnes compared with nearly 15.9 million tonnes last year. Aggregate cereal harvest this year includes some 12.3 million tonnes of wheat, 2.2 million tonnes of barley and 423 000 tonnes of maize. Kazakhstan had planned to match the bumper crop of 2002, but low cereal prices last year discouraged some farmers from growing cereals, while a severe winter compromised some areas under winter cereals in the northern parts of the country. Aggregate cereal exports during the 2003/04 marketing year is forecast at about 5.9 million tonnes, compared with 6.2 million tonnes last year. This aggregate includes 5.5 million tonnes of wheat and 389 000 tonnes of barley. Kazakhstan is set to supply much of the wheat deficits in Ukraine, the Russian Federation and other CIS countries caused by poor harvests.