A recovery in activity is being observed in Kazakhstan’s domestic grain market. Previously, this activity had been suppressed by restrictions imposed by Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) on loading operations and the approval of supplementary transport plans. The Grain Union of Kazakhstan has released its weekly review of the price situation for the period from October 19 to October 25, 2026, as reported by the APK Novosti agency.
Over the past week, prices for nearly all categories of wheat in Kazakhstan’s domestic market remained unchanged. Class 3 wheat with a gluten content of 23% saw a slight price increase of 1,000 tenge per tonne. Barley prices rose by 3,000 tenge per tonne, driven by strong demand from producers of feed-grade flour, as well as a recovery in demand from China and Uzbekistan.
The pace of grain exports remains slow due to restrictions imposed by KTZ, resulting from the overstrained state of the infrastructure. Restrictions also remain in place for a number of stations on the Uzbek Railways network.
Last week, export prices for Class 3 wheat with a gluten content of 28–29% fell by 2 USD/tonne.
Export prices for barley increased across all delivery bases:
▪ by 3 USD/tonne for DAP Dostyk/Altynkol and DAP Saryagash terms;
▪ by 5 USD/tonne for FOB Aktau terms.
Freight rates in the Caspian Sea toward northern Iranian ports remained unchanged over the week:
from Aktau – 90 USD/tonne;
from Astrakhan – 125 USD/tonne.
Flax seeds:
Last week, prices for flax seeds in key markets generally strengthened, largely due to complications in logistics. On the domestic market, the EXW price remained unchanged at 180,000–185,000 tenge/tonne (~398–409 USD/tonne).
The export price on an FCA Kazakhstan basis increased by 3 USD/tonne, reaching 433–438 USD/tonne.
The price for Kazakhstani brown flax (97% purity) on a DAP Poland basis remained unchanged at 495–500 EUR/tonne.
The price for Kazakhstani flax on a C&F ARAG (Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Ghent) basis rose by 5 USD/tonne to 675 USD/tonne for November shipment.
This is due to the inability to transit goods via Russian Railways (RZD) toward ports in Estonia and Latvia, as the Oktyabrskaya Railway is currently congested with Russian grain. Alternative routes are limited in terms of capacity and are more expensive.
The price for Kazakhstani flax on a DAP Dostyk/Altynkol basis increased by 2 USD/tonne to 487–492 USD/tonne.
This is driven by a revival in demand from China, where domestic prices have risen by an average of 50 CNY/tonne.
In summary, wheat prices remain stable across both domestic and international markets. A recovery in demand for barley is pushing prices upward in both the domestic and export markets.
The price of flaxseed in the European market—which had already risen sharply due to restricted transit through Russia toward Estonian and Latvian ports, as well as higher logistics costs for alternative routes—is expected to continue climbing. There are no signs of improvement in the situation for the month of November.