Nowadays grain is the third most important commodity that Kazakhstan exports after oil and gas products, and metals. Kazakhstan is one of the major players in the world grain market. Vast plains with an appropriate soil type and climate in the northern regions of Kazakhstan allow to harvest many millions of tons of grain. The main type of grain that Kazakhstan cultivates is wheat. For instance, according to preliminary estimates, in 2015 Kazakhstan became the eighth largest exporter of wheat in the world. In 2015 it exported 6.5 million tons of wheat, 0.4 million tons of barley, 27 thousand tons of maize and 17.8 thousand tons of other cereals. Annual revenues from grain export range between $1.3 and $1.8 billion. Approximately 85% of this sum comes from export of wheat.
Kanat Makhanov is a research fellow at the Eurasian Institute of the International H.A Yassawi Kazakh-Turkish University. He holds a BA in Business Economics from the KIMEP University from 2012. In 2014 he earned his Masters degree in Economics from the University of Vigo (Spain), completing his thesis on “Industrial Specialization in autonomous regions of Spain and Kazakhstan”. His main research interests are Spatial Economics, Economic Geography, Regional Economics, Human and Economic Geography.