Lentils in Kazakhstan have ceased to be a high-margin crop. This was reported by the head of the Grain Union Nurlan Ospanov, LS reports.
"This is the crop that shows good qualities during the growing season. But due to weather conditions, it fell off, and it turns out that we have lost the yield of lentils. And today it cannot maintain marginality," Ospanov explained.
At the same time, according to him, oilseeds remain the most profitable crops for farmers.
"But fellow oil producers say that they are not allowed to earn good marginality on sunflower, leveling out losses on other crops. They take 100 euros from the income from a ton in the form of a duty. If the government reduced it or zeroed it out, then this money would go to grain producers through purchase prices, this is required this year," the head of the union believes.
Assessing the overall situation on the market, he noted that a period of transformation is underway, when grain traders no longer work in their pure form and are looking for cooperation with producers or suppliers.
"Cooperation is underway against the backdrop of some grain producers going bankrupt or reaching an age where they can no longer farm themselves. If you look at our farmers, the average age there is approaching retirement, and their children do not want to continue their business. What will they do with this land? Return it to the state fund, and the akimats will further distribute it to those who want to work. This means that in the long term we will see the consolidation of today's small and medium-sized farms due to the acquisition of additional land. This process is permanently taking place in the country with a period of 10-12 years," Ospanov summed up.
Earlier, LS reported that Kazakhstan began selling more lentils in 2023, its volumes increased by 14.5 times and amounted to 13.4 thousand tons.