Kazakh Rumblings

Newly arrived onto the international wheat export scene, Kazakhstan isn't facing such a bumper harvest in 2010. Soaring temperatures topping 100C and very scant rainfall since spring crops were planted into a dry seedbed could cut wheat production quite sharply this season.

Karim Masimov, the Kazakh Prime-Minister has prophetically said that the nation has sufficient grain stocks to cover it's domestic needs in the event of a bad harvest this year.

Meanwhile Kazakhstan agribusiness Altyn Mai are to open a new flour mill in southwestern Kazakhstan worth 1.25 billion tenge (two pounds fifty), which will process 11,000 MT of wheat a month from the company's own farms in the Altynsarinskom and Mendykarinskom regions.