Kazakhstan faces difficulties with agro-exports through Baltic ports

Exports of agricultural products from Kazakhstan through Baltic ports have become more difficult, according to the head of the analytics committee of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, Yevgeny Karabanov. Due to congestion on the railway toward the Northwest, Russian Railways is rejecting applications to transport grain and flax through Baltic ports and Russian Baltic harbors.

The delivery of Kazakh flax to the EU in September and October 2026/27 of the marketing year has been complicated by logistical problems linked to the issue of exporting Russian grain through ports in the Azov-Black Sea basin and the redirection of Russian grain exports through Russian Baltic ports and ports in the Baltic states, Yevgeny Karabanov said on his Telegram channel.

«The northwestern route of Russian Railways and the ports are loaded with Russian grain, and Kazakh cargoes are not receiving Russian Railways’ approval for transit to Baltic ports. In October, all applications for transit by Kazakh exporters were rejected by Russian Railways,» he said. «No improvement in the situation is expected in November either, or in December, due to the seasonal reduction in port capacity for grain transshipment because of stormy weather.»

Alternative logistics for Kazakh flax through Belarus and Lithuania are more expensive, and restrictions also apply there, he explained. This has led to a rise in flax prices in the EU over the past 2.5 months.

At the beginning of October, Gani Esenbayev, deputy director of a branch of Kazakhstan’s National Railway Company, was the first to report that Russian Railways had rejected Kazakh agro-exporters’ applications for October in the northwestern direction.

Kazakhstan has no access to the sea, and transit through Russia to Baltic ports is the traditional route for delivering agricultural products to Europe and other distant markets. This route is critical for exports of oilseed crops such as flax and rapeseed, as well as durum wheat.

Taking into account worsening logistics at the end of September, the Grain Union of Kazakhstan lowered its forecast for durum wheat exports in the current marketing year to 300 thousand tons from 425.8 thousand tons in the previous season.