Iranian market important for Kazakh grain

Kazakhstan, Astana, Aug. 9 / Trend D.Mukhtarov /

The Iranian market is important for Kazakh grain, despite the fears of instability in this country, the president of the Grain Union of Kazakhstan, Nurlan Tleubayev, believes.

"Regardless of which order will be there and who will come to power, this is a country with a large population that will always consume the grain. Iran, despite its own production, has always imported grain," Tleubayev told Trend on Thursday.

He said that Iran is important for Kazakhstan not only as a market for its main export commodity - grain, but as the shortest transit route to the profitable markets in Turkey and the Persian Gulf region.

"We are waiting for the completion of the railway construction through Turkmenistan to Iran. In addition, there is a railway in the territory of Iran itself which connects it with Turkey, which also willingly buys our grain," Tleubayev said.

With regard to the Persian Gulf, he said, the population of this region consumes annually more than 23 million tons of wheat, and the beginning of the grain transit through Iran will open great prospects to Kazakhstan.

In 2007, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran signed an intergovernmental agreement on the North-South project. The projected volume of traffic on this route is up to 10 million tons per year.