February 17 2003, 13:34

Kazakhstan: rice producers want protection from Chinese imports

Union of Kazakhstan's rice producers applied to the government with a request to increase the currently effective 20 percent import duty for rice to 30 percent. The government, however, made half of it: the Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved a 25 percent duty, which is to have been introduced till the end of the first quarter.

According to the country's Agriculture Ministry, the situation was caused by the fact that in 2002 33,000 tonnes of rice, primarily from China, were imported into the country. As long as in the previous five years the exports had not exceeded 1,000 to 1,500 tonnes, the unprecedented import staggered the market balance, as cheap Chinese rice started to oust locally produced one.

In Kazakhstan rice, as well as wheat, is considered to be a profitable and competitive crop in export markets. During 1999-2002 rice production stabilised beyond the mark of 200,000 tonnes, with average yields about 2.88 tonnes per hectare. In 2002 the farmers collected 218,000 tonnes of rice from 99,000 hectares of sown area. Production forecast for 2003 is 220,000 tonnes of rice.