According to Valery Gachman, president of the Altai Grain Processors Union, the flour milling industry in Kazakhstan has significantly developed thanks to Altai grain. However, he believes that our region also has the potential to increase processing and benefit from it.
Speaking at the Winter Grain Conference in Belokurikha, Gachman noted that the Altai Territory should not remain a raw material appendage for Kazakhstan, commenting on the future of the flour milling industry in both countries.
In 2025, the Altai Territory exported much more agricultural products abroad than in the previous year, "feeding" both Asia and partially Europe.
From 2002 to 2015, the Altai Territory produced 1.2 million tons of flour annually; however, this figure has now decreased to 700 thousand tons. At the same time, Kazakhstan is increasing the volumes of its flour milling industry, using grain from our region.
Kazakh processors are actively trading with China, supplying feed flour made from lower-grade wheat there. Over the past two years, the export of this product from Kazakhstan to China has increased from 120 thousand tons in 2023 to 2.2 million tons in 2025, and in 2026, growth is expected to reach 3 million tons.
"In the last three years, the flour milling industry in Kazakhstan has been growing thanks to feed flour produced from Altai wheat. Essentially, we are a raw material appendage for Kazakhstan in the production of feed flour, and this does not look very good," Gachman ironically noted.
According to him, Altai millers are capable of producing feed flour for the Chinese market independently, but their capabilities are limited by the lack of necessary permits for supply to the PRC, which must be obtained from the Rosselkhoznadzor and the Ministry of Agriculture at the federal level.
Gachman expressed hope that such agreements between Russia and China will be reached, as recently happened with the supply of bran. Previously, other countries could trade this product with China, while Russia remained excluded.
"After many years of appeals from the Altai Grain Processors Union to the central authorities, the Rosselkhoznadzor and the Ministry of Agriculture finally did their job. Since the fall of 2025, Russian millers have gained access to the Chinese market for the supply of bran. While Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Vietnam had this right, Russia was left out. Today, we do not have access to the Chinese market for feed flour, but work in this direction continues, and we hope for its prompt completion," he added.
China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia have become the main countries to which the Altai Territory exports its agricultural products.
Gachman emphasized that the production of feed flour opens new opportunities for the region. Exporting raw materials is important, but processing with added value brings more economic benefits.
Processing on-site will help prevent further declines in grain purchase prices, which Altai farmers have been facing for several years.
"Today, grain prices are set by the global market, that is, processors from neighboring countries. If processing occurs here, all added value will remain in the region. Of course, our processors are not perfect either, but these are healthier relationships, controlled by the state. Our farmers have the opportunity to discuss issues with local processors, while this is impossible with foreign ones," Gachman concluded.
The post Leader of Altai Grain Processors Calls to Stop Being a Raw Material Appendage of Kazakhstan was first published on K-News.
