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GIEWS Country Brief: Kyrgyzstan 18-May-2017

Countries
Kyrgyzstan
Sources
FAO
Publication date
Origin
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FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

  • Prospects for 2017 crops generally favourable

  • Cereal imports in 2017/18 marketing year (July/June) forecast to increase

  • Wheat flour prices stable over last six months

Prospects for 2017 cereal crops favourable

Sowing of winter crops was completed in October 2016. The planted area under cereals is estimated at 146 000 hectares, slightly below the previous year. Farmers are switching to export-oriented products such as rice, sugar beet, cotton, beans and tobacco as well as to fodder crops, while planted areas under less profitable wheat and oil crops has decreased over the past years. Overall conditions of the winter cereals are good, with only 3.6 percent of the planted area reported to be in poor conditions (see ASI map). Planting of the 2017 spring cereals started in April under favourable weather conditions.

As most of the crops are irrigated, the Ministry of Agriculture allocated around KGS 250 million (USD 3.6 million) for state irrigation systems in 2017. The Government has reported shortages of fertilizers in the country, which are planned to be bought from Uzbekistan.

Considering the reduction in the planted area, FAO’s early forecast points to 6 percent decline in total cereal production, which is set at 1.6 million tonnes in 2017.

Cereal imports in 2017/18 marketing year forecast to increase

The country depends heavily on cereal imports to meet its consumption needs, with wheat accounting for about 98 percent of the total cereal imports. Wheat imports in the 2017/18 marketing year (July/June) are forecast at 600 000 tonnes, nearly 10 percent up from the previous year’s level, following the reduction in local production.

The bulk of the wheat and wheat flour originates from Kazakhstan, although the share of imports from the Russian Federation has been increasing over the past years.

Wheat flour prices stable over last six months

The average price of wheat flour was relatively stable over the last six months and in April it was 6 percent below its year‑earlier level reflecting good domestic supplies (local production plus imports), stable export prices from Kazakhstan and the Government’s decision to lift the VAT on imported wheat flour in January 2016.